TRENTON – Legislation sponsored by Senate Military and Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chair Troy Singleton and Senator Patrick Diegnan, Jr. that would appropriate $500,000 to DMVA for Council on Armed Forces and Veterans’ Affairs for the preservation of military installations in case of closure passed the Senate Military and Veterans’ Affairs Committee today.
“With threats of closure, it is of utmost importance that we find a way to preserve New Jersey’s military bases and provide some security and stabilization for their future,” said Singleton (D-Burlington). “It is critical that we act now because so many of these bases are economic engines for their regions, like Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst , which is Burlington County’s largest employer.”
“The military installations in New Jersey are our connection to the men and women who serve in the armed forces. We have to take the initiative to keep them open in case they are closed,” said Senator Diegnan (D-Middlesex).
The bill, S-1818, would appropriate $500,000 to the Department of Military and Veterans’ Affairs for use by the Council on Armed Forces and Veterans’ Affairs to preserve military installations in the event of federal action on base realignment and closure.
The bill was released from committee by a vote of 5-0, and next heads to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee for further consideration.