With the support of U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King, the Senate and House Appropriations Committees have reached an agreement on the Fiscal Year 2015 Omnibus Appropriations bill that provides $554 billion in funds for the Department of Defense and the national security programs of the Department of Energy.

The bill includes more than $3 billion for the U.S. Navy destroyer programs, including $2.66 billion for two Arleigh Burke-class DDG-51 destroyers, one of which will be built at Bath Iron Works, and $419 million for construction of the DDG-1000 Zumwalt-class destroyers. 

The bill also included funding for many other investments in Maine.

“I am pleased that this bill will continue to fully fund the DDG-51 and DDG-1000 programs which are essential to the future of our surface fleet and the jobs for the hard-working shipbuilders at Bath Iron Works,” said Collins, a member of the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee that drafted the bill. “The renewed focus in the Asia-Pacific region as an area of the highest strategic interest, as well as instability in other areas of the world, require the maintenance and growth of a strong Navy fleet.”

As a member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee, Collins worked to fund, and as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, King worked to authorize funding for these critical defense programs and other provisions important to Maine:

• $6 billion for procurement of 38 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft. Components for the F-35 are built at Pratt & Whitney in North Berwick, General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems in Saco, Hunting Dearborn Inc. in Fryeburg, and Fairchild Semiconductor in South Portland.

• The bill eliminates funding for the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) round proposed by the Obama Administration.
• The bill includes $1.6 billion for Navy facility maintenance and modernization, including projects at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery. This funding is $148 million more than the President’s budget request.
• The report accompanying the bill also includes language proposed by Collins to ensure the Navy funds the capital investment for the Navy’s four public shipyards, including Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, at the level required by law.
• $498 million for military engines that power F-15 and F-16 fighter aircraft, which is $111 million more than the president's budget request. Twenty-five percent of the parts for these engines will be built at the Pratt & Whitney plant in Maine. The F100-PW-229 production line would have closed without new orders.
• Neither the bill nor the report includes an unnecessary and costly study of an extra engine for the F-35 fighter, which would have competed with the existing engine produced by Pratt & Whitney.
• $25.3 million for M2 .50 caliber machine gun modifications performed at General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems in Saco.
• $13.4 million for procurement of the Common Remotely Operated Weapons System (CROWS). Vingtech in Biddeford produce components for the CROWS.
• $27.4 million to support important Civil Air Patrol operations and maintenance nationwide, which is $2.4 million more than the President's budget request. The Civil Air Patrol has nine stations in Maine.
• $560 million for research and development for the CH-53K helicopter. Hunting Dearborn in Fryeburg manufactures the rotor shaft for this helicopter.
• $225 million in Rapid Innovation Program funding to increase investment in small businesses and developing technologies that benefit DOD.

“Thousands of Mainers, like those at BIW, work hard day in and day out to support our country’s national security and defense mission,” King said. “This bill is a continued investment in their work as well as a recognition that they will play a fundamental role as our armed forces confront threats across the globe and protect our interests at home.”

The Fiscal Year 2015 Omnibus Appropriations Bill is currently being considered by the House of Representatives before it can be sent to the Senate and signed into law by  President Barack Obama.