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LOGAN — Utah First District Congressman Blake Moore, while in Cache Valley earlier this past week, stopped by KVNU’s For the People.
Recently the U.S. House of Representatives passed HR 7900, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2023.
Moore said this will continue to provide crucial funding for programs at Hill Air Force Base.
“The work we do on the NDAA, it’s all encompassing of everything related to our defense world with respect to how we fund it. Hill Air Force Base itself is really strong, it’s got a unique value proposition in that, we’ve got the First Operational Wing of the Joint Strike Fighter F-35, the GBSD, now called Sentinel program. Those are two really, really key important projects, and we were able to continue to secure the funding for that,” he explained.
Moore said the Sentinel program has pretty much passed its’ infancy on where it is.
“So, the last two years on the NDAA we’ve made sure that it maintains its importance as far as funding levels, and that looks pretty solid going forward. Because when a program first starts, the first couple of years it’s testing it out, then you find some wrinkles with it, and it’s always tough, but we’re past that point. And the Sentinel program is well on its way, that’s what provides…it’s all those missiles that are in silos across the western United States, that are ready to go at a moments notice.”
The Saline Lakes Ecosystems Act passed the House of Representatives last week, the legislation would establish a scientific monitoring and assessment program to help save the Great Salt Lake and other saline lakes in the West.
“It will provide a very in-depth report study from the U.S. Geological Survey. USGS is the right group to go through on something like this to provide that data input on what decisions we make at the state level. Governor Cox and the state legislature came to us well over a year ago, to see what we could be doing at the federal government level.”
Moore said the state has put forth an enormous amount of attention and effort on it in just the last legislative cycle with historic options. He said there is more to do and specific things that need to be done to try and save the lake.