Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-Westlake Village) has spearheaded a bipartisan effort in the U.S. House of Representatives to fund the Navy’s MQ-4C Triton Unmanned Aerial System (UAS).
“The Triton program will bring hundreds of jobs to Ventura County, boosting our local economy and strengthening Naval Base Ventura County’s position as an essential component of our nation’s long-term strategic defense requirements,” said Congresswoman Brownley. “Flight testing of the Triton continues to move forward, and it is vital that Congress continues to provide the Navy with the funding needed to ensure the program moves forward on time.”
The House-passed Defense Appropriations bill supported the Navy’s request for four aircraft in Fiscal Year 2016. The Senate appropriations bill would only support two aircraft. This week, 25 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives, led by Congresswoman Brownley, submitted a formal request to the House defense appropriations conferees to maintain the House position.
In February 2014, the Department of the Navy announced that Naval Base Ventura County would be the West Coast home to the Triton. The program will initially have four officers and 43 enlisted personnel with an initial annual payroll of $3.7 million, but the workforce is expected to grow to 700 service members by 2020 and account for an estimated 2,400 new Ventura County residents, including family members.
Since coming to Congress, Brownley has spearheaded efforts to fund and support the Triton program.
A copy of the letter is attached to this release.
Issues: 114th Congress, Defense