Bill Would Invest in Michigan’s Exercise Northern Strike, Boost Selfridge Air National Guard Base, and Support Our Allies

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) helped the Senate Appropriations Committee pass the Fiscal Year 2025 Defense Appropriations Act, bipartisan legislation that supports servicemembers, Michigan defense installations, and funds high-impact local projects in Michigan that are vital to national security.   

Meanwhile, the U.S. House of Representatives is considering their own funding bills. The Senate and House will then need to reach an agreement on a final funding bill and have it pass both chambers before being sent to the President to be signed into law.  

“This bipartisan legislation takes a number of critical steps towards strengthening our national defense,” said Senator Peters. “It supports servicemembers and their families, expands Michigan’s defense footprint, harnesses the power of America’s military manufacturing sector, and bolsters our national security. These are commonsense priorities that go beyond partisan lines — and I will do everything I can to see this agreement passed into law.”  

The bill includes measures led and supported by Peters, including:  

Supporting Servicemembers and Families:  

Pay Raise for Servicemembers: The bill fully funds the 4.5% pay raise for servicemembers requested in the President’s budget request. For junior enlisted personnel, it provides funding to support a larger 5.5% pay raise. It fully funds the basic allowance for subsistence, basic allowance for housing, and includes $251 million for basic needs allowance for members of the military and their families with a household income that is less than 200% of federal poverty guidelines. It also fully funds the President’s budget request to address ongoing recruiting challenges.   

Child Care & Early Education: The bill fully funds the President’s budget request for the operation, renovation, and repair of child development centers, and it supports full-day, universal pre-K for military families.   

Suicide Prevention and Response: The bill fully funds the President’s budget request of $261.2 million for suicide prevention and response including implementation of the recommendations of the Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee. It also designates suicide prevention as a research area within the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs’ Peer-Reviewed Medical Research Program   

Sexual Assault Prevention: The bill provides $47 million above the budget request for the Special Victims’ Counsel program to help survivors of sexual assault.                                             

Supporting Michigan’s Defense Installations:   

Funding for Exercise Northern Strike: Peters helped secure a record $24.1 million for Exercise Northern Strike – the National Guard Bureau’s largest joint service, multicomponent exercise which takes place annually in Michigan. Northern Strike takes place at the National All-Domain Warfighting Center (NADWC), which utilizes both the Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center and the Alpena Combat Readiness Center, which are both based in Northern Michigan. 

Supporting PFAS Remediation in Grayling: The bill includes $30 million to support PFAS remediation efforts at Camp Grayling. This funding will extend municipal water to new residential areas and begin remediation at the Army Airfield to protect the municipal wells in the City of Grayling and the AuSable River. Earlier this year, Peters applauded DOD’s announced plans to expand use of PFAS mitigation strategies pioneered in Northern Michigan at more than 30 DOD installations and National Guard facilities nationwide, including Camp Grayling.  

Connected Vehicle Cyber Security Center at Selfridge: The bill includes $7 million to help create a one of kind DOD Connected Vehicle Center to be located at Selfridge Air National Guard Base. This funding will leverage Michigan’s premier automotive manufacturing capabilities and the Department of Defense’s expertise in wheeled and tracked vehicle development at the Detroit Arsenal.   

Procurement of Six F-15EX Fighter Jets: The bill includes funding to procure six additional F-15EX fighter jets. This funding continues the production of this important fighter which is critical for our national defense. Peters has long advocated for additional fighter aircraft, such as the F-15EX, to be stationed at Selfridge.   

Supporting New Fighter Mission for Selfridge: Peters advocated for inclusion of language outlining the inadequacy of the Air Force’s current and projected fighter acquisition strategy. The language also expresses concerns about the Air Force’s lack of a viable plan for sustaining production and fielding of fighter aircraft. Peters has repeatedly expressed concerns with the Air Force’s plans to retire the A-10 squadron at Selfridge Air National Guard Base and the resulting impacts on Michigan and our national defense. Peters also led the effort to secure a new KC 46-A tanker mission for Selfridge, which was announced earlier this year.  

Refueling Tanker and Collaborative Combat Aircraft Teaming: Peters secured language encouraging the Air Force to study the use of refueling tankers for integration with Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), the unmanned fighter concept the Air Force is developing. This language requires the Air Force to provide a report to Congress on their ongoing efforts to integrate communication nodes on refueling tankers. It also requires an assessment of future research required for current and future refueling tankers. CCAs are the future of warfare and when paired with refueling tankers like the KC-46s which Peters helped secure for Selfridge in January, Selfridge Air National Guard Base will be well positioned as an installation with significant long-term value for the Air Force.   

Defense Communities and Environmental Mitigation: The bill makes substantial investments in defense communities to help limit environmental impacts associated with military activities. This includes funding for PFAS cleanup, munitions response programs, and environmental protection initiatives.   

Bolstering Michigan’s Defense Economy:   

Strengthening Michigan Marine Workforce: The bill would provide funding for new ship construction, including one Constellation-class frigate to be built at the Marinette Marine shipyard, which is located along the Menominee River and employs hundreds of Michiganders. The bill also includes $100 million to support the frigate industrial base. These funds will be used to hire hundreds of additional skilled trades people.   

Modernizing High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs): Peters helped secure $50 million to upgrade Humvees with anti-lock brakes and electronic stability control systems that will help prevent rollovers, which have claimed the lives of far too many servicemembers. These kits are made in Troy, Michigan and this funding would help support more than 150 jobs. 

Advanced Manufacturing Centers: Peters helped secure $5 million for research and development of critical materials processing to support scaling up commercialization of ceramic-related technology. This vital research is done by LIFT, a Department of Defense Manufacturing Innovation Institute based in Detroit.  

Expanding Michigan's 3D Printing Network: The bill includes $3 million to create a statewide network of 3D printers available for small and medium-sized defense manufacturers to use to scale up production and expand their businesses. With this funding Michigan will remain on the cutting edge of additive manufacturing.      

Supporting Autonomous Vehicle Research: The bill includes $5 million to support Michigan universities’ collaboration with the U.S. Army to build a prototype of a lightweight autonomous vehicle platform to fuse different technologies into a unified system. This ongoing research project will support Michigan’s leadership in the global automotive marketplace.   

Funding to Improve the Safety of Stryker Vehicles: Peters helped secure $3 million for the Army to update Stryker vehicles with driver-assistance technology. This funding would help ensure that Made in Michigan ground vehicles like the Strykers are operating with cutting edge technology designed to keep our servicemembers safe.  

Report on Multi Domain Task Force and Force Structure in the National Guard: Peters secured language directing the Army to provide a report on its Multi Domain Task Force stationing plan and Force Structure in the National Guard. With China, Russia, and North Korea continuing to impact global stability, the U.S. military is adapting its capabilities to meet these rising threats. The Army’s new Multi-Domain Task Forces are the centerpiece of the Army’s efforts to respond to these global challenges in Europe and the Indo-Pacific. When forward positioned, the Multi-Domain Task Forces will enable the U.S. military to freely operate within contested environments. Peters has consistently advocated for Michigan to be as a location for a Multi Domain Task Force. A Michigan-based Multi-Domain Task Force will capitalize on the state’s exceptional location, force structure, training opportunities, and strategic investments, strengthening Michigan’s National Guard assets and bringing additional personnel to the state.  

Accelerate Infantry Squad Vehicle Production at GM Defense: Peters led and secured a provision that would accelerate fielding of the Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV) produced by General Motors Defense. Peters has championed this program, including by highlighting the importance of the ISV during an Senate Armed Services Airland Subcommittee hearing in May.   

Infantry Squad Vehicle Variant for Experimentation: The bill also includes $2 million in funding to support research of additional variants of General Motors Defense’s Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV). This funding will support research and develop of the ISV two seat, four seat, and five seat variants which can accommodate a broad range of missions including fire support, command and control, electronic warfare, counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS), reconnaissance, logistics, and casualty evacuation.  

Strengthening our National Security, Supporting Allies Around the World:   

Global Readiness: The bill provides $2 billion above the President’s budget request to improve military readiness across the services. It provides $1.9 billion above the budget request to counter the influence of the Chinese government through initiatives in the Indo-pacific and investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and hypersonic technologies. It also delivers $500 million for the Indo-Pacific Security Assistance Initiative (IPSA-I). It also provides $400 million for enhanced cooperation and advance interoperability in Africa and Central/South America in the face of increased aggression by the Chinese government.   

Strategic Partnerships with Baltic Nations: Would provide $225 million in funding for the Baltic Security initiative to help strengthen our national security ties with our Estonian, Lithuanian and Latvian partners. Latvia has been a State Partner of the Michigan National Guard since 1992.  

Strengthen Efforts to Combat Anti-Tunneling Activity: The bill includes $47.5 million in funding to strengthen current collaborative efforts between the U.S. and Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to combat Hamas and strengthen anti-tunneling activity in the Gaza Strip. As part of DOD’s collaboration with the IDF, Israel shares its counter-tunnel technology with DOD and the Department of Homeland Security to combat growing threats at our borders, as well as similar threats faced on the Korean Peninsula and in multiple locations in the Middle East. This provision is based on Peters’ United States-Israel Anti-Tunnel Cooperation Act.   

Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI): The bill sustains $300 million in funding for USAI to continue support for Ukraine.   

National Guard and Reserves: The bill includes $1 billion, to be divided proportionately among the military services and the National Guard and Reserve, to improve readiness, including providing for increased training and maintenance activities.   

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