Federal funding is now on the way for a series of housing upgrades at the big Fort Bliss U.S. Army post in El Paso.
Democrat Texas Congresswoman Veronica Escobar has announced that just over $7.2 million has been secured in an appropriations bill that will go for barracks facility work.
More specifically, the funding will directly target both the planning and design of the Collective Training Barracks on the base intended for use by Army, Army National Guard, and Army Reserve transient soldiers at the base.
In allowing for the passage of the bill, Escobar hailed Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson for “allowing the first funding bill to get to the floor” and in the process keeping half a dozen government agencies open while Congress has grappled with larger government shutdown challenges.
Late last year another Fort Bliss construction project was announced in the form of a 430,000-square-foot roughly $600 million new health care facility that will be run by the Department of Veterans Affairs and is expected to be completed in December 2027.
One of the largest U.S. Army posts in the country, Fort Bliss was founded in 1849 and comprises some 1,700 square miles in both El Paso and southern New Mexico. It is home to around 38,000 active-duty military personnel.
By Garry Boulard
