Boozman: Don't Politicize Department Of Defense Appropriations Act

Press Release

Boozman: Don't Politicize Department Of Defense Appropriations Act

U.S. Representative John Boozman (R-AR) signed onto a letter to House leadership and the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, asking for a fair and straightforward vote for the 2010 Department of Defense Appropriations bill.

"I am concerned by this Congress' trend of including unrelated legislation in appropriations bills. I believe this doesn't allow for a transparent government nor does it give Congress the opportunity to properly debate the legislation. Our troops deserve to have a clean Department of Defense bill and should not be used to politicize a social agenda," Boozman said.

The following is text of the letter:

"We write to express our deep concern over reports that House leadership is planning to include the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act (H.R. 157) in the fiscal year 2010 Department of Defense Appropriations Act.

Regardless of Members' position on either of these bills, we owe it to the American people to ensure that each piece of legislation that comes before this body is discussed and voted on its own merits. Specifically, we are concerned that the politicization of any legislation dealing with vital funding for our troops sends the wrong message to our brave men and women in uniform and their families. A fair and straightforward vote on the fiscal year 2010 Department of Defense Appropriations bill should be considered.

Furthermore, Members from both sides of the aisle have concerns about H.R. 157 that deserve an open, transparent debate. Inclusion of H.R. 157 in the Department of Defense Appropriations Act would severely limit this necessary discussion and ignores the valid constitutional questions surrounding this legislation, including serious concerns that many Members of the House have regarding D.C. residents' Second Amendment rights. We believe that separate deliberation on H.R. 157 would be most consistent with your promise to "create the most honest, most open, and most ethical Congress in history," and urge you to resist any call to include H.R. 157 in any legislation coming out of a Conference Committee.

We appreciate your consideration of our views and look forward to considering D.C. voting rights and Department of Defense appropriations, each on their own merits, on the House floor in the 111th Congress."

In July Boozman voted in support of H.R. 3326, the 2010 Defense Appropriations bill.

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