Cramer: House Passes S. 1356 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fy2016

Press Release

Congressman Kevin Cramer joined a majority of the U.S House of Representatives, today, in support of S. 1356, the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2016. The bill authorizes $540.4 billion in spending for base national defense and an additional $59 billion for Global War on Terror/Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) for a total of around $599 billion.

This proposal is $5 billion less than the President's budget request for $611.9 billion in defense discretionary spending, but complies with the recently passed Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015. View the $5 billion in reductions from the vetoed conference report to H.R. 1735 - National Defense Authorization Act here.

"The world grows more and more dangerous each day," said Cramer. "Russia continues significant military expansion while China threatens our allies and interests in the Pacific. A stronger, more robust military is needed now more than ever by the United States. I urge President Obama to sign this legislation and ensure our armed forces have the resources they need to keep our nation strong and secure."

The NDAA also provides for the well-being of our military personnel and their families.

"The strength of America's military comes from the dedicated men and women who volunteer to keep our nation safe and secure," said Cramer. "For the first time this bill provides retirement benefits to the 83 percent of service members who traditionally leave the service without the chance to save for retirement."

This bill includes an amendment co-sponsored by Cramer when the bill passed the House in May. It prohibits funds from being expended to reduce, or prepare to reduce the responsiveness or alert level of U.S. intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM). During the debate, Congressman Cramer gave a floor speech on the importance of his Nuclear Alert Status Amendment. View the speech by clicking on the image below.

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