U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) applauded the passage of appropriations bills today to fully fund the Department of Defense as authorized in Inhofe’s National Defense Authorization Act. In addition to defense funding, these bills provide the necessary funding for critical Oklahoma priorities.

“Defending America is the most important job of Congress,” Inhofe said. “During the Obama administration, our military was degraded to staggeringly low funding levels—reduced by 25 percent over his last five years. By fully funding the Department of Defense in this appropriations bill, we are finally making up that deficit and are on our way to rebuilding our military. Our troops need this so that they can not only continue to do their jobs, but do them with the best resources possible.

“This bill fully funds the important priorities I included in the NDAA: funding vital military operations, creating Space Force, resourcing needed modernization programs, providing a 3.1 percent pay raise for our troops and reforming the privatized military housing system. I am proud of the work President Trump has done to get our military back to the place it needs to be, and I am proud to support and work with him as we deliver real results on his promise to rebuild our Armed Forces.”
Inhofe worked to include key provisions to benefit Oklahomans. His priorities included:

Department of Defense, Army Corps of Engineers – Civil Works and Department of State
• Fully funding the PIM and Long Range Precision Fires programs at Fort Sill.
• Provides $2.1 billion for KC-46A Tanker aircraft where training will be done at Altus AFB and maintenance will be at Tinker AFB.
• Provides $3.0 billion for the B-21 bomber program that will receive maintenance at Tinker AFB.
• Provides $340 million for Advanced Pilot Training that pilots will use to train at Vance AFB.
• Fully funding Impact Aid, to support local educational agencies and schools with military dependent children.
• Fully funding Starbase, a program to educate and motivate students to explore Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields. The Oklahoma National Guard runs the STARBASE program out of four locations, the Will Rogers Air National Guard Base, the Tulsa Air National Guard Base, Tinker Air Force Base and Burns Flat.
• $73M for Fort Sill Advanced Individual Training Barracks Complex, Phase 2
• $18.9M for Tulsa IAP Fuels Storage Complex for OKNG
• $5 million to support the commemoration of the year 2020 as the 75th Anniversary of the end of World War II. Inhofe was responsible for enacting legislation authorizing this commemorative program into law earlier this year.

Energy and Water
• $2.5 million for US Coast Guard to recapitalize fleet of inland river tenders, vessels responsible for marking navigation channels on inland waterways like MKARNS. These vessels are over 50 years old and must be replaced. Inhofe authored a provision in the 2018 U.S. Coast Guard Reauthorization bill directing the Coast Guard to develop a plan to recapitalize this fleet. This funding provides the Coast Guard the resources necessary to move that effort forward.
• $72.6 million for operations and maintenance of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (MKARNS).
• $1.5 million for the Three Rivers project, which supports the MKARNS.
• $35 million for flood recovery purposes, including recovery efforts at the Tulsa Levees.
• Includes $750 million for Department of Energy’s Fossil Energy Research and Development that continues the federal government’s prioritization on research and development of fossil energy.

Second Amendment
• Prohibits the use of funds to impose a ban on imported shotguns.
• Prohibition on use of funds for gunwalking programs like that occurred during program Operation Fast and Furious.
• Prohibited use of funds to arbitrarily deny importation of U.S. origin “curio and relic” firearms as allowed under law. These are firearms from past conflicts now considered obsolete by the government.
• Maintains pro-gun Dickey amendment that bars the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from advocating or promoting gun control.

Protecting the Southern Border and Building the Wall
• Provides $1.375 billion in new funding for construction of the border wall along southern border.
• Maintains President Trump’s authority to transfer funds for the border wall.
• Includes no new restrictions on President Trump’s ability to use funds for border security
• Prevents a reduction in number of ICE detention beds as Democrats wanted.
• Provides funds to hire 1,200 additional CBP Protection officers and 100 new border protection processing coordinators.
• Blocks Democrat policy rider allowing for taxpayer dollars to fund lawyers for migrants arriving at southern border

Paris Climate Agreement
• Blocks Democrat policy rider that would have restricted the Trump Administration’s ability to withdraw from Paris Climate Agreement.

Department of Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS)
• $2.8 billion for State, local and tribal law enforcement and crime prevention grant programs including $547 million for Byrne JAG – a $123 million increase. Funding for Byrne JAG is a DOJ grant program that goes to state and local law enforcement agencies, including those in Oklahoma, for crime prevention, public safety and other initiatives
• Provides $20.2 million for the National Mesonet Program and $13.6 million for the Tornado Severe Storm Research and Phased Array Radar Center located at the University of Oklahoma.
• Provides $146 million for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Program. Earlier this year, Inhofe introduced legislation to help businesses train the next generation of manufacturing workers.
• Provides $292.5 million for Economic Development Assistance funding through the Economic Development Administration and includes language that bolsters aeronautic economic development opportunities. Inhofe praised multiple grants awarded to Oklahoma this year, including:
o $1.5 million grant to Oklahoma Panhandle State University (OPSU) of Goodwell, to build a new welding technology training center in the Guymon Industrial Park.
o $2 million grant to the Tishomingo Municipal Authority, Tishomingo, Oklahoma, to help increase the capacity of the local water treatment plant so that it can better serve business needs.
o $1.5 million grant to the city of Durant, Okla., to make critical water infrastructure improvements needed to support business expansion in the region.
• Provides $190 million in Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) funding, a competitive grant program used by research institutions such as the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University.

Department of Agriculture
• Provides $3.2 billion for the Agricultural Research Service and National Institute of Food and Agriculture. This maintains the existence of the current facilities, including the three in Oklahoma: Woodward, El Reno and Stillwater.
• Provides $6.9 billion in lending authority for rural electric cooperatives to finance affordable and reliable electricity.
• Provides $500 million in loans and budget authority for rural community facilities. Loan funding and budget authority ensures that rural communities continue to receive financial support from the private sector in the construction and improvement of community facilities, such as hospitals and schools, which provide essential public services in rural areas.

Department of the Interior
• Directs an increase of $2 million over last year for “Safe and Sustainable Water Resources program.” Facilities like the Robert S. Kerr Environmental Research Center in Ada, Okla., could benefit from this increase to build on groundwater research on Enhanced Aquifer Recharge.
• Prohibition on funds being used to regulate the lead content of ammunition, ammunition components or fishing tackle to ensure no de facto ban on ammunition or fishing tackle for Oklahoma’s sportsmen.

Department of Transportation, Housing and Urban Development
• Provides $10 million for aviation workforce development efforts for pilots and mechanics, as authorized by Inhofe’s provision in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018.
• Provides $3.35 billion in Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funding for airport infrastructure investment.
• Provides additional $400 million in discretionary grant funding for airport infrastructure investment, setting aside $200 million for small commercial and general aviation airports.
• Fully funds the Air Traffic Control Contract Tower Program, which includes six air traffic control towers located in Oklahoma.
• Instructs the FAA to address the aging air traffic control facilities it leases.
• Includes $1 billion for BUILD Grant funding, and $46.3 billion in Highway Trust Fund funding per the FAST Act. In 2018, Oklahoma received $26.5 million in BUILD grant funding.
• Provides an additional $2.2 billion in nationwide discretionary funding for transportation infrastructure investment such as bridge repair and rehabilitation. Oklahoma’s share of this funding will be $38 million.
• Prohibits enforcement of Electronic Logging Device Rule with respect to livestock haulers. This provision, coupled with the Agricultural Trucking Relief Act, which Inhofe cosponsored earlier this year, would further ease regulatory burdens on Oklahomans responsible for transporting livestock.
• Provides up to $25 million for inland waterway port infrastructure to improve efficiency and facility access
• Requires the Federal Railroad Administration to collect information and track blocked railroad crossings and work with State and local officials to development recommendations to reduce the number, frequency, and duration of blocked crossings.

Department of Labor, Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Education
• $1.3 billion for state grants to support workforce development through Career and Technical Education programs.
• $15 million for graduate medical education grants, benefiting both the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University.

Tax Extenders
• Extends accelerated depreciation for investment on Indian Lands through 2020. Sen. Inhofe has led efforts to make this credit permanent.
• Made a technical correction to ensure rural electric cooperatives can maintain their tax exempt status. Inhofe cosponsored standalone legislation to address this concern.
• Extended the Short Line Rail Road Maintenance Tax Credit (45G) through 2022. Inhofe has consistently cosponsored legislation that would make this tax credit permanent.