Up to $1.1B in funding has been allocated to the U.S. Air Force in a new Senate bill intending to help the government in disaster-relief efforts, Air Force Magazine reported Wednesday.
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The Air Force budget is part of the $13.6B government-wide funding package to address the aftermath of hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and wildfires, among other natural disasters. The bill was introduced by Republican Sens. David Perdue and Johnny Isakson of Georgia, Marco Rubio and Rick Scott of Florida, Tim Scott of South Carolina, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Alabama Democrat Doug Jones.
The over $1B budget for the Air Force would fund construction, operations and maintenance of the service’s installations affected during the 2018 hurricane season. Up to $700M would go to planning, design and construction projects for facilities damaged by Hurricane Michael, while the remaining $400M would be for emergency spending. The bill states that the funding could support the service’s construction projects through Sept. 30, 2023.
If signed into law, lawmakers intend to require Air Force officials to submit a plan for how it will spend the funds before releasing the money.
