Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act of 2014
Floor Speech
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Mr. TURNER. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the National Defense Authorization
Act for 2015, the 53rd consecutive National Defense Authorization Act.
I want to personally thank the chairman and Ranking Member Smith; our
staff director, Bob Simmons; my MLA, Morley Greene; Senator Inhofe and
the ranking member; and, of course, Secretary Hagel for having included
in this bill important legislation that will protect the custody rights
of our men and women in uniform. This has been a battle for 7 years,
and I greatly appreciate their tenacity and their support over what has
been a long battle. No longer will random family law courts across the
Nation be able to penalize our men and women in uniform by taking
custody of their children away as a result of their having served their
Nation.
Mr. Speaker, I had the honor of serving as the chairman of the
Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee as well as the cochair of the
Military Sexual Assault Prevention Caucus. Under the full committee
leadership of Chairman McKeon and Ranking Member Smith, with my ranking member, Loretta Sanchez, we have done a bipartisan effort in this bill. It supports the men and women, and it also helps retain defense
technology superiority, sustains our critical defense industrial base,
and helps to maintain continued modernization for our military.
Additionally, we provide full funding for the Joint Strike Fighter
and the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle programs, and the bill includes
additional funding for National Guard and Reserve Component Equipment
modernization, Abrams tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, Stryker combat vehicles, tactical wheeled vehicles, body armor, and unmanned aerial systems.
I also believe that this bill is incredibly important because of the
provisions that are in this bill with respect to sexual assault. I want
to thank my cochair, Representative Tsongas, Military Personnel
Subcommittee Chairman Joe Wilson, and the ranking member, Susan Davis,
for her help on the issues of sexual assault in the military and also
custody. These provisions are incredibly important and will provide
additional protections to our men and women in uniform.
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