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Urge Action in Senate

WASHINGTON, DC- Following today’s passage of the Continuing Resolution in the House of Representatives, U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) applauded the efforts of Congressman John Murtha (D-PA), Tim Murphy (R-PA), Jason Altmire (D-PA), Bill Shuster (R-PA), Mike Doyle (D-PA) and Phil English (R-PA) and the rest of the Pennsylvania Congressional delegation for their role in securing $8.2 million in funding for the new commissary in Coraopolis. 

“We are pleased that our colleagues in the House of Representatives recognize the importance of the new commissary in Coraopolis to the National Guard, Guard Reserve, active military, retirees and their families and have allocated funding in the Continuing Resolution for the new facility,” said Senators Casey and Specter.  “We urge the Senate to take similar actions to support the new commissary and will continue to seek funding for the post exchange and other military family support services.”

The funding allocated in the Continuing Resolution passed by the House of Representatives will go directly to the Defense Commissary Agency’s (DeCA) surcharge for the construction of the new commissary located next to the 99th Army Reserve Center in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania.  

This facility would replace the commissary located at the Charles E. Kelly Support Facility in Oakdale, Pennsylvania, which is scheduled to close in September of 2009 under the Base Realignment and Closure law (BRAC).  Over 150,000 military retirees, active-duty, National Guard, reserve troops and their families in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and Western Maryland are eligible to use the commissary.  The distance to the closest commissary facility is over 400 miles roundtrip in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.   Senators Casey and Specter will continue working with the Pennsylvania delegation to keep the Charles E. Kelly Commissary open until the new facility in Coraopolis can be built.

 

 

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