U.S. Representative Adam Smith Praises Passage of H.R. 5122, The FY07 Department of Defense Authorization Act

U.S. Representative Adam Smith Praises Passage of H.R. 5122, the FY07 Department of Defense Authorization Act

Washington, D.C. - "I am pleased that I supported H.R. 5122, the Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 Department of Defense (DoD) Authorization Bill, which passed out of the U.S. House of Representatives and onto the U.S. Senate with broad bipartisan support," said U.S. Rep. Adam Smith (D-Tacoma). "Our servicemen and women, and their families, sacrifice each and every day for the freedoms that we enjoy. This critical legislation fulfills the commitment we owe them, particularly in this time of war. Also included was $50 billion in so-called bridge funds to cover the first portion of war costs for the coming fiscal year. The war in Iraq has been ongoing for over three years and we have a good sense of the costs associated with operations there and in Afghanistan. It only makes sense to authorize this spending. While not perfect, this bill addresses many of the concerns that have been raised over the past few weeks while this bill has been debated both in the House Armed Services Committee, on which I serve, and on the Floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. Some of the highlights include additional funding for better equipped vehicles for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and for improvised explosive device (IED) protection."

Smith goes on to state, "last week, I announced several provisions and Puget Sound-based programs that I felt were important when this bill was passed out of the House Armed Services committee last week. A list of these provisions is located at on my Web site at: http://www.house.gov20060504pr.html."

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/wa09_smith/morenews/20060511pr.html