The 2017 military construction and Veterans Administration legislation approved today by the Senate Armed Services Committee on a 30-0 vote includes $20 million for a new National Guard readiness center in East Greenwich, Sen. Jack Reed announced today.

Reed, the ranking Democrat on the committee, said the $20 million will build a new 80,000 square foot readiness center to support training, administrative and logistical requirements for the Rhode Island Army and Air National Guard.

Reed said the current command center lacks sufficient administrative space, classrooms, locked storage space and an assembly hall for unit formations. “I am pleased to help deliver federal resources to create an improved environment for our soldiers and the community here in East Greenwich,’’ Reed said in a statement.

Scott MacKay retired in December, 2020.With a B.A. in political science and history from the University of Vermont and a wealth of knowledge of local politics, it was a given that Scott MacKay would become...