Time away from family and friends, missing the birth of their sons and daughters, deployed overseas during holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving, anniversaries gone by… these are just a few things the men and women who serve in the U.S. Armed Forces give up in order to defend our freedom. Our troops sacrifice so much for us, and last week, I had the honor of voting for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which will give them the resources they need to protect our great nation and make America safe and strong.
Our country is facing growing threats around the world, and as these threats increase, so do the needs of the brave men and women who put their lives on the line to defend our freedom. As our troops put themselves in harm’s way to defend us against threats to American values, it is our job to make sure that they are more prepared than ever.
The number one responsibility of the federal government is to keep you and your family safe. While we work at home to secure the border and defund Sanctuary Cities that harbor dangerous illegal immigrants, there are ever-evolving threats spreading world-wide. ISIS, North Korea and Iran are just a few of the menaces we are facing. Fully supporting our men and women in uniform is the best way to defend against these international bad actors who want to destroy America’s way of life. Unfortunately, in recent years, our military has been subject to damaging budget cuts, reducing some of our capabilities to pre-9/11 levels. But now, we are giving our Military Generals what they asked for, fully funding our military’s budget request and ensuring they have the newest most up to date resources they need to fight against threats to our freedom.
My vote for the NDAA will provide our troops with the equipment, personnel, weapons systems, protections and capabilities they need to accomplish their missions and thwart countries who want to hurt us, like North Korea and Iran. One of the most concerning threats from these rogue nations are intercontinental ballistic missiles which is why we are increasing spending for our missile defense programs by $12.4 billion dollars. We are also giving our men and women in uniform the best body armor and increasing spending to modernize and improve this vital and sometimes last line of defense for our troops. There is also a provision in NDAA that makes sure no terrorists from Guantanamo Bay are moved to U.S. prisons. Most importantly, the NDAA gives our brave men and women in the military a well-deserved pay raise. In fact, it’s the highest pay raise for our troops in more than seven years.
I often tell our troops that I am thankful for their service, but I am honored to have been able to actually show them just how grateful I am for what they do to protect us by voting to give them the resources they need and deserve.
