Senate Committee earmarks additional funding for Anniston Army Depot

The Senate Armed Services Committee has set aside billions for Alabama defense projects including projects that will benefit the Anniston army depot.

 The Committee funded M1 Abrams tank modifications at $261 million, $24 million above the Department of Defense's budget request. Senator Jeff Sessions said the additional funding is for reduction in risk to the armored vehicle industrial base, Sessions said.    The committee strongly urged the Army to adhere to its statutory minimum depot capital investment requirements. Current law requires each branch to reinvest 6 percent of total depot funding into depot infrastructure and capital assets, but the Army currently plans to invest only 3.6 percent in Fiscal Year 2015. The committee included additional funding that would meet the 6 percent threshold.   The committee directed the Army and the Pentagon to conduct a business case analysis of the costs, benefits, risks, feasibility, and advisability of strategies to manage risk in the armored vehicle transmission industrial base. Anniston Army Depot provides work on the Army's fleet of armored vehicles.