Press Releases

Congressman David Rouzer released the following statement following the passage of Fiscal Year 2018 National Defense Authorization Act, an authorization bill considered by Congress every year to set funding levels for the military to continue its operations and remain a global leader:

“It is the duty of Congress to ensure our military and troops have the necessary funding and resources to defeat terrorism, combat the growing security threats we face in the world and keep our homeland safe.  During the past several years, our military has just been getting by – enduring major annual cuts to their budgets as our world becomes a much more dangerous place.  Our men and women who serve have been required to do much more with much less, and this has resulted in tough readiness choices that have harmed our national security and our troops.  I’m proud to have joined my colleagues in supporting the FY18 NDAA which will boost defense spending by 10% in order to better ensure that our service members have the tools necessary to complete their missions safely and efficiently.  Passage of this bill is critical to our military installations across our state, country and around the world.”

The FY18 NDAA strengthens our national security by:

• Providing for U.S. involvement and support for efforts in strategic regions around the world;
• Fulfilling the request of the Army, Navy and Air Force with thousands of additional personnel;
• Increasing missile defense funding by $2.5 billion;
• Modernizing our nuclear weapons stockpile, missile defense, and military vehicles;
• Supporting defensive and offensive cyberspace strategy; and,
• Ensuring that no terrorist detainees at Guantanamo Bay are transferred to American soil;

The NDAA provides for our troops and their families by:

• Fully funding a well-deserved pay increase;
• Blocking misguided attempt to close military medical facilities upon which our deployed troops and their families rely; and,
• Providing commonsense resources to help families manage challenges like relocations – including reimbursements for spouse’s obtaining licensing/certification in another state.

 Lastly, the authorization bill reforms the way the Pentagon does business by:

• Updating the retirement system, improving the military healthcare system and streamlining our military acquisition system so that the Department of Defense conducts business in a cost-effective and transparent manner.

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