Bill includes provision Pingree authored to enable land transfer at Brunswick Naval Air Station
President Obama signs defense legislation at the White House.
President Obama signed the 2010 Defense Authorization Act in a White House ceremony today as Congresswoman Chellie Pingree looked on. The legislation contains a provision authored by Pingree that will enable land transfers at the Brunswick Naval Air Station for local redevelopment.
“We put a lot of work into getting that provision through Congress,” Pingree said. “It is critical for redevelopment efforts in Brunswick and it was gratifying to see the President sign it into law this afternoon.”
Pingree sponsored a bill requiring no-cost transfers of land at former military bases, which passed the House as part of the Defense Authorization Act. The provision will make it possible for the Department of Defense to transfer land from the Brunswick Naval Air Station to the local community without requiring that the local redevelopment authority come up with tens of millions of dollars to purchase the land.
Although the Senate did not include the provision in their version of the legislation, because it had passed the House it was possible for a compromise agreement to be reached to allow it to be included in the final bill. Maine’s entire Congressional delegation supported inclusion of this important provision in the legislation.
The bill signed by the President today, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010, also includes historic hate crimes legislation that will allow the Justice Department to prosecute crimes based on sexual orientation, gender or gender identity.
“The hate crimes legislation takes an important step toward protecting all Americans who are victims of violent acts of intolerance,” Pingree said. “I sponsored this bill in the House and I’m glad it is becoming law today.”
The President will sign the hate crimes portion of the bill in a separate ceremony at the White House later today.
Defense Secretary William Gates also attended the ceremony for the bill, which includes millions of dollars for Maine-based projects.
“I am extremely pleased that the final bill includes my authorization request for almost $12 million that will go directly to Maine’s economy.” Pingree requested funding to build cellulose nanocomposite panels for ballistic protection at the University of Maine, for the design of high-speed composite boats, and to improve security gates at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
“The bill also authorizes the last increment of funding for the DDG-1000, which will be built at Bath Iron Works. This is an essential increment of funding that will help bring stability and longevity to the talented men and women of BIW,” Pingree said. “I am extremely proud to have worked so hard to include this funding, and it speaks volumes for the men and women of BIW that the funding is included in the final bill.”
