Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Chairman, I urge our colleagues to support this Defense spending bill for 2015.

This bipartisan legislation provides $491 billion in discretionary funding for our Nation's highest duty, and that is the security of country, the sustainment of our military operations, and the well-being of the brave men and women of our Armed Forces.

The bill before you today, Mr. Chairman, will help meet the most pressing needs of our military as we address current and arising threats to the safety of our Nation in an ever-changing global landscape. It also takes into account the ongoing challenges of our current fiscal situation, finding ways to trim excess spending and reduce lower priority programs without negatively affecting our troops or the success of our military missions.

Providing our military with the highest standard of readiness is a top priority in this bill. This includes procuring important equipment and resources, supporting troop training and flight time, and maintaining our bases and facilities. The bill marks investments in important defense technology R&D to help advance the safety and success of our military operations now and into the future. Investments like these will help to preserve our military's status as the most effective and capable in the world.

The backbone of our military is, of course, the brave men and women who lay their lives on the line in defense of this Nation. With that in mind, the bill fully funds the authorized 1.8 percent pay raise for our military personnel instead of the 1 percent as requested by the President. Troop housing costs are also fully funded as authorized. This ensures that our more than 1.3 million Active Duty troops and 820,000 Guard and Reserve troops have the quality of life they deserve during their service. $31.6 billion is included for the Defense Health Program, to ensure a consistent and strong quality of care for our troops, their families, and retirees. Within this total, the bill includes increases above the President's request for cancer research, traumatic brain injury research, psychological health research, and suicide prevention outreach programs. The bill also provides an increase of $50 million above last year for sexual assault prevention and response programs, helping to address this growing challenge within our forces.

Lastly, the bill provides $79.4 billion in overseas contingency operations funding to support our troops in Afghanistan. As we have yet to receive an official budget request that reflects the most current and anticipated status of our troops in the field, this OCO funding will undoubtedly require further evaluation, particularly with the developing situations in Iraq and the Middle East.

By prioritizing these vital programs, closely scrutinizing the budget request and assessing the most current needs, the fiscal '15 Defense Appropriations bill ensures the best use of our limited Federal dollars. We made careful, targeted reductions wherever possible without adversely affecting the safety of our troops or the ongoing success of our military missions.

Mr. Chairman, as of today, we have completed 10 appropriations bills of the 12 through subcommittee. Eight have gone through full committee, and we have begun or we have completed the consideration of six bills on the floor. So, when we finish this bill and the ag bill, we will be half through the 12 bills. That has not happened in many years. We are moving at a remarkable pace, and if our colleagues in the other body continue their good work as well, we stand a great chance of completing this important work on time.

This is an even greater achievement because we have done so under regular order, with open rules that have allowed every Member to have his or her voice heard. Over the five bills we have considered on this floor so far, we have had more than 200 amendments, and I am sure we will add to that tally today. We have taken great care to weed out waste and excess and to terminate duplicative programs. In this year alone, we have found savings in every bill, and we have done all of this while abiding by the Ryan-Murray budget agreement.

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