Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congressman French Hill (AR-02) released the following statement after voting against House passage of H.R. 2500, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA):

“Since I’ve been in Congress, the NDAA has been considered in committee and on the House floor in a bipartisan fashion. It’s been signed into law for 57 straight years, and House Democratic leaders have put that bipartisan legacy at risk with this deeply flawed bill. The Senate passed their version of the NDAA by an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 86-8 before the Fourth of July recess. Yet Speaker Pelosi continues catering to the far-left wing of her party over working with House Republicans to craft a bill that helps Arkansan and American families, supports our troops, and protects our nation’s interests around the world.

“It is clear Democratic leaders do not understand how to work in a divided government. I am disappointed, but not surprised, that they are choosing to play political games with our national security, members of the armed forces, and their families, by forcing through another partisan measure that has no chance of ever getting signed into law.”

Additional:

· H.R. 2500 authorizes FY2020 appropriations and sets forth policies for Department of Defense (DOD) programs and activities, including military personnel strengths. It does not provide budget authority, which is provided in subsequent appropriations legislation.

· The House Democrats’ NDAA underfunds the Department of Defense (DOD), advances partisan policies that harm readiness and modernization, contains a backdoor effort to close the facility at Guantánamo Bay, and prohibits securing our southern border.

· This bill contains an arbitrary topline budget figure that is less than what our military needs, less than the figure the Administration requested, and less than the figure the Senate approved.

· This bill cuts $1.2 billion in military personnel funding accounts, the same accounts that fund troop pay, benefits, and housing. This severely hurts military readiness.