Shelby, USM could benefit from FY ‘24 National Defense Authorization Act

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) - Camp Shelby and the University of Southern Mississippi could benefit from new national defense legislation adopted by the U.S. Senate.

The Senate version of the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) included $22 million for improvements to rail loading capacity and railcar storage at Camp Shelby.

It also authorizes $5.4 million in additional federal funds for Shelby’s Maneuver Area Training Equipment Site.

In addition, the bill encourages the Office of Naval Research to partner with USM on solar cell research.

The House of Representatives has passed its version of the bill.

“We have the House version passed and the Senate version passed, and they’re different, so we’ve got to go to negotiations, so let’s don’t cash the check yet,” Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker said. “But, moving the bill along with only 11 no votes in the whole Senate and only four Republican no votes is a great achievement and to me, it’s an indication that we can see the finish line.”

Tuesday, Wicker helped Hattiesburg officially kick off construction of the Hall Avenue-West Railway overpass.

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