To President’s Desk: $566 Million Secured by Fischer for National and Nebraska-Based Defense Programs

U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced she secured $566 million for national and Nebraska-based defense programs, including U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM), 55th Wing, and the 557th Weather Wing - all located at Offutt Air Force Base - in the Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) Defense Appropriations Act passed by Congress. The bill now heads to the President's desk to be signed into law.
"Congress' first responsibility is to defend the nation," Fischer said. "As a member of the Appropriations and Armed Services Committees, I'm working to make sure our troops have the resources they need to keep America safe. That's why I fought to secure critical funding for U.S. Strategic Command, the 55th Wing, and the 557th Weather Wing at Offutt Air Force Base - strengthening mission-critical defense programs and supporting the service members who carry them out. I look forward to seeing this signed into law."Key provisions secured by Fischer:

STRATCOM:

• $26 million for STRATCOM's nuclear command, control, and communications (NC3) Enterprise Center's Rapid Engineering Architecture Collaboration Hub (REACH) program

• $11 million to expand and improve STRATCOM's NC3 Enterprise Center's network sensor demonstration
• $9 million for the Joint Electronic Spectrum Operations Center (JEMSO) to test and evaluate advanced electromagnetic warfare technologies

• $11 million for upgrades to the National Airborne Operations Center at Offutt Air Force Base

55th Wing:

• $24 million to improve the RC-135 fleet, including new alternate position, navigation, and timing (PNT) systems

557th Weather Wing:

• $1 million to upgrade 557th Weather Wing's data processing operations
• $1 million to improve 557th Weather Wing's sensing and modeling capabilities to support emerging missions in the stratosphere

University of Nebraska:

• $3 million to enable the University of Nebraska Medical Center to work with the Department of Defense and Health and Human Services (HHS) to build contingency plans for extreme health events

• $3 million for the University of Nebraska to develop an Automated Resuscitation Catheter (ARCA)

• $20 million for the Joint Civilian-Medical Surge Pilot Program

Other Provisions:

• $38 million above the President's budget request for APEX accelerator programs
• $60 million above the President's budget request to procure additional MH-139 helicopters to monitor and defend Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) missile fields
• $47.5 million above the President's budget request to support U.S.-Israel Emerging Technology Cooperation to meet the challenges of the future battlefield

• $4 million above the President's budget requestto support the development and deployment of visualization tools for comprehensive, actionable threat assessment of adversarial activities

• $8 million above the President's budget request to develop high frequency communications relay stations across the globe

• $4 million above the President's budget request to advance research and development of technologies to seek hard and deeply buried targets

• Additional funding for the Colombia-class submarine, including:
  $285 million in shipbuilding, advanced procurement, and
  $11 million in shipbuilding