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Mission Update

DC Fly-ins

NWFDC has coordinated two, two-county delegation DC Fly-Ins thus far in 2025, advocating for priority NDAA requests for NAS Pensacola and NAS Whiting Field. Meetings have been held with:

  • House Appropriations & Armed Services Committee Leadership
  • Senate Military Advocates & Defense Policy Advisors
  • Congressional Representatives with Aviation & Cyber Defense Experience
  • Department of Defense Leadership for Installations and Missions

State & Local Representation

NWFDC continues to educate State and Local leadership on the critical needs and opportunities of the military missions of Northwest Florida.

  • Panel Discussion at the 2025 Florida Power & Light Economic Forum
  • Representation on the Florida Defense Support Commission and Florida Defense Alliance
  • Active members of the regional Military Installation & Resilience Review (MIRR) and planning for “next steps”
  • Working with Navy Region Southeast to identify and support Inter-Governmental Services Agreements (IGSA) and Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) between the installations and local government agencies, potentially saving both entities money and resources

A View from the Hill

Jeff Burton
Burton Strategies

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Washington is back in full swing. With Republicans holding the Presidency, Senate and House (albeit with a VERY small majority), DC is fully occupied with the Budget Reconciliation bill that will extend the 2017 Tax Cuts, increase our border security, unleash American energy and increase our defense spending. All that comes at a cost however and Republicans are currently debating cuts and work requirements to Medicaid, food assistance programs, clean energy tax incentives and a larger exemption for the State and Local Income Tax (SALT) deduction, among other things. There are many moving parts, but Republicans are trying to have this legislation to the President’s desk by July 4th. On the coalition front, the FY25 Appropriations cycle ended with a Concurrent Resolution (CR) to fund the government. This means that Congress basically sent the Trump Administration a check to spend however they please. Congress will have a great deal of input, but the ultimate decision on funding matters is solely that of the Administration.

On our priorities, the coalition was instrumental in getting $12 million in the House Defense Appropriations bill to begin the repair of Hangar B3260 at NAS Pensacola. In addition to $10.6 million for the Hurricane Consolidated Dorm and language instructing the Secretary of the Navy to report back to Congress with their plan to repair and rebuild Hangar B3260 in the MILCON/VA Appropriations bill. Unfortunately, the CR eliminated these line items, but we are working with the DOD and Congress to ensure these projects are funded with FY25 money. On the authorization front, we were able to receive over $4 million to begin the planning and design process for a new Child Development Center (CDC) at NAS Whiting Field and we also inserted similar instructions on Hangar B3260 for the Secretary of the Navy. This legislation became law in December and we are currently working with our new Congressman, Jimmy Patronis, in addition to Senator’s Scott and Moody to push on the Secretary of the Navy to complete and report on their plan for Hangar B3260. Looking to FY26, after two successful trips to DC, we have submitted three appropriations and authorization requests. We are requesting more funding to repair Hangar B3260 at NAS Pensacola and funding to continue building the AHTS Helicopter Hangar that received funds n FY24 and begin construction of the CDC at NAS Whiting Field. We will continue to keep the coalition updated on our efforts. More to come…