WASHINGTON D.C. – By a wide bipartisan margin, the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) approved the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act late Wednesday. The legislation authorizes defense priorities and spending for the next fiscal year. Congressman Scott DesJarlais, M.D., a member of the Committee, released the following statement after voting in support:

“Years of budget uncertainty, while international threats accumulate, have placed an enormous burden on our troops in the field, support staff, and their families, as well as endangered our country’s national security. This bill funds improved training, equipment and current operations, and it reforms the Pentagon bureaucracy to conserve public resources and speed procurement of the latest technology for the world’s best military, fighting to defend our safety and liberty.”

In particular, Rep. DesJarlais, a member of the Subcommittees on Readiness, as well as Seapower and Projection Forces, worked to increase funding for infrastructure repairs to the nation’s nuclear security enterprise. He has been a strong advocate for hypersonic weapons and other emerging technologies. He supports increasing troop levels across military branches and extending special pay and bonuses to service members, all of which the Committee approved yesterday.

The Congressman represents Tennessee’s Fourth District at the heart of the Aerospace and Defense Technology Corridor spanning Middle Tennessee from Kentucky to Alabama. It includes Fort Campbell, Arnold Air Force Base, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Redstone Arsenal, among other military and scientific facilities.