Portman Praises Administration Proposal for Final Installment of Funding for Wright Patterson Air Force Base's National Air and Space Intelligence Center

Statement

U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) praised the Trump administration's FY 2020 budget request for the final installment of $120.9 million in funding to upgrade the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) located at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Portman has repeatedly supported the funding through the annual appropriations and authorization processes. The FY 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) conference report authorized $182 million for phase one and two of the NASIC modernization effort. Congress appropriated $61 million for phase one of the project last year.

NASIC's main campus facilities are overcrowded and require modernization to meet today's missions. With significant total force growth that has outpaced their facility growth, NASIC has been forced to utilize antiquated World War II-era facilities on base and temporary structures. This investment in NASIC infrastructure will provide the command with much-needed secure spaces that meet the demands of the growing workforce and the associated information technology requirements of modern facilities. Portman released the following statement:

"The mission of NASIC at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is critically important and I'm pleased that the president's budget supports funding these important facility upgrades to continue NASIC's vital work. These new facilities are critical for NASIC to fulfill its increasingly important intelligence analysis mission for our Air Force and national policymakers."

NOTE: Portman has visited NASIC at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base various times to discuss their recent military construction projects and the need for this new investment.

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