The U.S. Senate passed the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs 2008 spending bill in September of 2007. Providing over $963 million for military facility projects in Maryland, the bill will fund a two-stage expansion of the existing U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) laboratory. The completed $1-billion facility will be comprised of 1.1 million sf and will accommodate 1,300 employees. The first phase of the project will reach completion in 2012 with the second phase culminating in 2016.
A version of the funding bill was previously passed by the House of Representatives and an amalgamation of the two bills is to be finalized for Presidential approval. The bill includes $150 million for an Army biodefense laboratory at Fort Detrick, $214.8 million in BRAC funding for the Joint Medical Command headquarters at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, $52.1 million for the National Maritime Intelligence Center in Suitland, and $28 million in BRAC funding for the Air National Guard and Readiness Center headquarters at Andrews Air Force Base.
