David Jolly Showcases MacDill Air Force and VA Funding

From his perch on the U.S. House Military Construction and Veterans Affairs (VA) Appropriations Subcommittee, U.S. Rep. David Jolly, R-Fla., announced on Monday that $94 million was being sent to improve MacDill Air Force, including $39 million for a special operations support facility and $55 million for runway improvements for Black Hawk helicopters.

The continued investment of SOCOM resources and infrastructure, combined with the relocation of Army Reserve Black Hawks, will provide necessary resources for our men and women in uniform to carry out their critical mission, and the investment further demonstrates the national security significance, and growing permanency, of MacDill," Jolly said on Monday.

Jolly also showcased $163 million to the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), an increase of almost 6.5 percent from the last budget.

This funding is intended to provide for the hiring of 770 new full-time VBA employees, and specifically for 200 new claims processors at regional offices like ours in St. Petersburg, so that veterans do not have to wait months and months for critical claims decisions, Jolly said. The current backlog must be cured and Secretary McDonald assures us these additional resources will solve the problem.