Washington ― Once signed into law, the Michigan Legislature’s approval of $152 million for a runway project at Selfridge Air National Guard base is expected to unlock $792 million in federal military construction funding for the Macomb County base to prep for the arrival of two new aircraft platforms, the F-15EX and KC-46 tankers.
The Democrat-led state Senate voted 34-0 on Wednesday to approve the $152 million supplemental spending bill for Selfridge that the GOP-controlled House passed in April. The legislation next heads to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s desk for her expected signature.
Air Force Secretary Troy E. Meink committed in writing to Michigan’s U.S. senators in December that when the state secured the full $152 million in cost-share for a runway relocation project at Selfridge, his department would move to fund $792 million in remaining facilities and infrastructure additions over the next few years at the base located on Lake St. Clair northeast of Detroit.
The federal funding represents a major milestone for securing the future of Selfridge, which had been uncertain for years due to the Air Force’s planned retirement of the base’s core mission of housing A-10 fighter jets.
“It’s a big, freaking investment,” U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, told The Detroit News.
“It was a lot of good work by a lot of good people. And in this toxic climate between Democrats and Republicans, we’re actually doing something really big that will have just a generational output for the state.”
Whitmer called it a “huge, bipartisan win for Michigan that will grow our economy and make our country safer” in a statement Wednesday.
“Today, we landed the plane,” Whitmer said. “Delivering this funding by June 1 was critical to securing the fighter mission and protecting Selfridge for the future.”
State Sen. Kevin Hertel, D-St. Clair Shores, said the improvements at Selfridge are critically important to the region and the state as a whole.
“We’re talking about employing thousands of people across the state and this unlocks a ton of opportunity,” Hertel told reporters.
If the state funding didn’t get to the governor’s desk, delays were possible, Hertel said.
“We want to make sure we keep this on time,” Hertel said.
The money will come from the state’s General Fund.
Michigan House lawmakers representing Macomb County, including state Reps. Joe Aragona of Clinton Township, Jay DeBoyer of Clay Township, and Alicia St. Germaine of Harrison Township, celebrated the divided Legislature’s ability to push through the “bureaucracy” and “politics” stalling the bill.
“It shouldn’t have taken this long, but I’m glad some of my colleagues in the Senate finally came to their senses and decided to push this through,” said St. Germaine, whose district includes the base.
State Rep. Ron Robinson, R-Utica, stressed that the benefits of the investment into Selfridge would ripple across the state.
“I don’t think people understand what a big deal this is to have state-of-the-art jets in southeast Michigan,” Robinson said, referring to the base as the “Miramar of the U.S.” “This is going to be a huge boon for the economy, not only in southeast Michigan, but in the entire state.”
White House got involved in settling Selfridge’s future
A year ago, President Donald Trump overruled the Air Force, directing it to send an F-15EX squadron to Selfridge. But Michigan lawmakers of both parties have worried the Pentagon could drag out the funding or upgrades needed at Selfridge until after Trump left office, then send the fighters elsewhere.
“If we are not ready, then the delays are going to keep getting pushed until such time that they’re going to say, ‘You know what, you’re not ready. You lose the mission,'” U.S. Rep. John James, a Shelby Township Republican whose district includes Selfridge, said last week. “We need to make sure we’re ready.”
Slotkin on Wednesday credited “everyone involved,” including Whitmer, for pressing the Legislature to move swiftly, state legislative leaders, as well as members of Michigan’s congressional delegation who advocated for Selfridge dating back to 2014 ― a 12-year effort to not just make sure that Selfridge “not just survived but thrived,” she said.
Whitmer last week suggested that state officials aim to move quickly to begin advance work on the $152 million runway project, which has the longest construction lead time and requires the separate, state-funded $52 million relocation of the William P. Rosso Highway between I-94 and Jefferson Avenue.
Slotkin said she and Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, had a half dozen meetings and calls over the last year with Meink, his chief of staff or the chief of the National Guard Bureau, Gen. Steven Nordhaus, not including questioning during committee hearings.
In an exchange of letters, Slotkin and Peters urged the service to put in writing the commitment to station the 21 F-15EXs at Selfridge, which Meink did in a Dec. 18 letter to each senator, indicating the first aircraft is expected by the end of 2028.
The same letter from Meink asked the state to put up $152 million for the Selfridge runway project, and stated the Air Force “intends to fund the remaining $792 million” in required upgrades at the base.
The letter noted that the nearly $985 million in planned infrastructure and facilities planned for Selfridge Air National Guard Base is nearly four times the average annual Air National Guard military construction budget.
Why the Pentagon pressed for state taxpayer support
Meink said that the state’s investment in the runway would allow for completion of the project faster than the Air Force could manage under the federal process and would alleviate the need to “displace” the F-15EXs or KC-46 aircraft after their arrival at Selfridge ― that is, park them at another base until the new runway and facilities they require are complete.
“The DAF (Department of the Air Force) is committed to executing a generational investment in equipment and facilities in the state of Michigan, ensuring Selfridge remains a strategic asset for years to come,” Meink wrote in the Dec. 18 letters to Slotkin and Peters.
Meink’s staff followed up this spring by laying out the funding for the eight separate Selfridge projects in the Air National Guard’s five-year planning document for its military construction budget, including a $190 million maintenance complex for the F-15EXs, $218 million dual-bay hangar complex for the KC-46s and a $34 million training complex for the KC-46 aircrews.
The spending is set to start in fiscal year 2028, though Peters and Slotkin aim to shift that up a year during the appropriations process, so the funding is available earlier.
“After many, many years of ‘maybes’ and ‘hopeful’ things, seeing almost $800 million in black and white, I felt like I could breathe a little bit on this,” Slotkin said Wednesday.
“This isn’t just a replacement mission for Selfridge. This is going to make Selfridge the premier Air Force base east of the Mississippi. This is why we wanted this so badly,” Slotkin added.
“It isn’t just about refuelers and a fighter mission, but all the other industry issues and potential. … It helps solidify infrastructure that will help us attract military missions and defense contracts for the next two generations. That economic engine that we know Selfridge can be and is, will only grow.”
The U.S. House on Friday passed a military construction budget with $152 million for the Selfridge runway project, though that funding isn’t expected to be available until later in the year or even early 2027.
House Speaker Matt Hall, R-Richland Township, previously said Michigan officials hoped to expedite the infrastructure improvements so the fighters and tankers could be delivered within Trump’s presidency, which is scheduled to end on Jan. 20, 2029.
mburke@detroitnews.com
cmauger@detroitnews.com
eleblanc@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Pentagon plans $792M spend at Selfridge after Legislature commits $152M
Reporting by Melissa Nann Burke and Craig Mauger, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
