03.23.24

Hoeven Secures North Dakota Priorities in FY24 Defense Funding Legislation

Senator Advanced Nuclear Modernization for Minot, Satellite Mission & Hypersonic Missile Testing in Grand Forks

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today helped secure Senate passage of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Defense Appropriations Bill, which provides increased support for North Dakota’s servicemembers and their missions. The Defense bill was one of the final six FY2024 Appropriations bills approved by Congress today. The bills, which were previously considered and approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee with broad bipartisan support, complete the FY24 appropriations process, and while defense received a 3% increase, the bills provide savings in non-defense spending. The bills passed earlier this month reduced non-defense spending by $10 billion and today’s bills reduced non-defense spending by more than $6 billion.

In particular, Hoeven worked through his role as a member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee to secure the following priorities for the state:

  • A 5.2 percent military pay raise and increases to housing and subsistence allowances.
  • Increased support for nuclear modernization, including the dual-nuclear mission at Minot Air Force Base. This includes:
      • Sentinel – $4.5 billion for ongoing research and development and early procurement of key components of the new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
      • B-52 Upgrades – $1 billion for ongoing updates to the B-52, including new engines.
      • Long Range Standoff Weapon (LRSO) – $969 million for engineering on the new LRSO, which will be carried on the B-52.
      • MH-139 Grey Wolf helicopters – Continues procurement of the replacement for the Vietnam-era Huey helicopters, with Minot in line to begin receiving the Grey Wolf in 2026.
  • Full funding for Space Development Agency (SDA) and Test Resource Management Center (TRMC) activities in Grand Forks, including:
      • The SDA low-Earth orbit satellite mission at Grand Forks Air Force Base.
      • TRMC’s Sky Range hypersonic missile testing program at Grand Sky.
  • Nearly $16 million to begin standing up a MQ-1C Gray Eagle training center for the Army National Guard, potentially to be located in Grand Forks.
  • More than $100 million for defense research and development efforts across North Dakota.

“The security of our country is the federal government’s primary responsibility, and we worked to ensure the FY24 appropriations bills made key investments in our national defense while securing reductions in non-defense spending,” said Hoeven. “This includes the essential military missions based in North Dakota, from nuclear modernization in Minot to UAS, space and hypersonic missile operations in the Grand Forks region. By supporting these missions, we are ensuring the U.S. has the edge over our adversaries now and well into the future. While we made progress to bring back regular order in the appropriations process, there’s more work to do. We reduced non-defense spending for the first time in nearly a decade and need to continue working to bend the curve on spending to reduce the debt and deficit.”

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