WASHINGTON – Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-1) released the following statement today following the President’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2016:
“For the first time in this nation’s history, the President has chosen to veto the National Defense Authorization Act over domestic policy differences and deny our military critical funding. This bipartisan legislation grants the President the full $612 billion he requested for our nation’s defense programs, and yet he has held the bill hostage to unrelated policy measures. At a time when our national security is threatened by terrorist groups like ISIS and national actors like China and Russia, this veto prevents our troops from getting the training and the equipment that they need to keep us safe at home and to fulfill the obligations we have made to our allies.
“The President has spoken repeatedly about the good that domestic spending can do, but in states like Virginia, where more than 10 percent of the population is made up of military families and veterans, defense spending is domestic spending. This veto denies our service members improved benefits and increased pay and does harm to critical support industries like the shipbuilding and ship repair trades, along with the countless small business that support our military. Our troops, their families, and our communities depend on purposeful defense policy devoid of Washington games. It’s regrettable that the President could not put aside politics-as-usual to do what is best for our men and women in uniform and for the United States.”
Congressman Rob Wittman represents the 1st District of Virginia. He serves on the House Natural Resources Committee and the House Armed Services Committee, where he is Chairman of the Readiness Subcommittee.
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