Media Center

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2018. Congressman Scott DesJarlais, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, voted for the legislation to improve troop training, equipment, pay and benefits, as well as force projection to deter international threats.

    Rep. DesJarlais (TN-04) is a member of the Subcommittees on Readiness and Seapower and Projection Forces. He represents a district at the heart of the Aerospace and Defense Technology Corridor spanning Middle Tennessee from Kentucky to Alabama, including Fort Campbell, Redstone Arsenal, Arnold Air Force Base, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

    His amendment to identify potential funding and capability shortfalls in the nation’s nuclear enterprise, such as the Y-12 nuclear facility near Oak Ridge, passed in this latest NDAA, which sets annual defense policy and funding. The bill includes more funding for joint training exercises with U.S. allies in the Pacific, in order to address the North Korean nuclear threat.

    In response to Democrats’ demands that Congress increase domestic spending by an amount equal to new defense spending, Rep. DesJarlais argued the nation must not take public resources or national security for granted. “Our Constitution makes it clear that our top priority and duty is to provide for the common defense... Without it the rest of the discretionary budget really doesn’t matter,” he said on the House Floor.

 

Click to watch Rep. DesJarlais support U.S. military

Click to watch Rep. DesJarlais support U.S. military

 

    He described Americans’ sacrifices during World War II. “It would have unthinkable, unimaginable for someone to suggest that our military could not have the resources necessary to defeat our enemies, unless we had equal spending for everything else.”

    “Simply put, we would have lost the war and our freedom.”

    The opposition’s effort to increase IRS and other funding failed. The 2018 NDAA represents a nearly $50 billion increase over the former President’s budget proposal.

 

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