A defense bill that will make improvements at Whiteman Air Force Base and Fort Leonard Wood should be signed by President Barack Obama tomorrow (10/28). 

    The U.S. Senate and U.S. House have both passed the Defense Authorization Act.  Congressman Ike Skelton is the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.

    He says the bill has money that will be well spent in Missouri.

    "This bill provides more than $188 million dollars for Missouri projects including new facilities and expansion of Whiteman Air Force Base and substantial military construction funds for Fort Leonard Wood," Skelton said. "This construction creates American jobs and generates revenue for families and businesses."

    Whiteman will get $5.5 million to expand their boundary north and south and $7.4 million to build an explosive ordnance disposal operations complex. 

    Fort Leonard Wood will get $5.5 million to add onto a dental clinic, $7.8 million to add onto a health clinic, $17 million for a wheeled vehicle drivers' course, $19.5 million for a Warrior in Transition complex, $99 million for a training barracks and $27 million for a digital training facility. 

    Skelton says the Defense Authorization Act also helps the armed forces overall. 

    "This bill concentrates on our critical military readiness needs, it also provides funding to address equipment shortages in the National Guard and Reserve. It also increases the size of the military, provides our troops with a 3.4% pay raise, and prohibits fee increases on TRICARE in-patient care for one year."

    The bill contains $11 billion for the Army reset, $2 billion for a Marine Corps reset, and $6.9 billion for the National Guard for equipment shortfalls. 

    The measure also increases the size of America's military by adding 30,000 Army troops, 8,100 Marines, just under 15,000 Air Force personnel, and just under 2,500 Navy sailors.