Brown, Ryan help pass act that has funds for Camp Ravenna, YARS

Staff report

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Cleveland, helped pass the final Military Construction, Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, which includes critical funding for Camp Ravenna and the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Vienna.

Earlier this summer, Brown served as a member of the House-Senate Conference Committee that wrote the final National Defense Authorization bill. That bill authorized the spending. This bill provides $7.4 million to construct an automated multipurpose machine gun range at Camp Ravenna’s Joint Military Training Center and $8.8 million for upgrades to ensure the YARS main gate meets safety requirements.

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th, was a member of the Senate-House Conference Committee for this bill and is a member of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee. He was instrumental in working to move the YARS funding that was not set to be appropriated until next year expedited and included in this bill.

"This legislative package is not perfect, but it does fund facility improvements at Youngstown Air Reserve Station and Camp Ravenna," Ryan said.