THORNBERRY ON NDAA PASSAGE

WASHINGTON, DC - Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX) made the following statement after final passage of the NDAA Conference Report.  The Conference Report passed the House today with a vote of 356-70.  The conference report will now be approved by the Senate and sent the President for signature.  This is the third NDAA under Chairman Thornberry's leadership.  

“Unfortunately, as the world has become more dangerous, we have cut the resources for our troops.  This year, again and again, we have seen the tragic consequences of asking our troops to do more with less.  Serious accidents are on the rise, troops with critical skills are leaving the force, and our allies and enemies alike are questioning our commitments.  It will take more than one year and more than one bill to rebuild the strength that we have squandered, but the Constitution explicitly tasks the Congress with doing just that.  This NDAA is an important start.  It begins to rebuild our military strength; it gives our troops a much-needed pay raise; it replaces equipment that is just too broken to keep fixing.  But unless we follow the NDAA with an appropriations bill at the same levels, none of this work can begin.  Securing those appropriations must be Congress’s top priority before the year ends."