Rep. Calvert Hails Passage of Bill to Fund our Troops

Today, Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-42) voted for the Fiscal Year 2015 Defense Appropriations bill along with a bipartisan majority (340-73) of his colleagues. Rep. Calvert is a senior member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.

"Providing our soldiers with the tools and resources they need to accomplish their mission is one of the most important roles of Congress and the appropriations process," said Rep. Calvert. "I am particularly pleased that we were able to give our troops the 1.8% pay raise they have earned and their families depend on. We have also made critical investments in TRICARE and other defense health programs that will provide our soldiers and their families with the care they need."

"Our country continues to face significant fiscal challenges, however we simply cannot afford to balance our budget on the backs of our military. I want to applaud Defense Subcommittee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen for drafting a thoughtful and balanced bill that ensures our military is given the priority it deserves. Looking forward, I am eager to work with my colleagues to take a closer look at our unsustainable growth in Defense Department civilian employees and enact my legislation (H.R. 4257, the REDUCE Act) in order to protect our warfighters."

Fiscal Year 2015 Defense Appropriations Bill Highlights:

Military Personnel and Pay–The bill fully funds the authorized 1.8% pay raise for the military, instead of 1% as requested by the President, and provides funding to maintain 100% of troop housing costs through the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH).

Defense Health and Military Family Programs– The bill contains $31.6 billion for the Defense Health Program to provide care for our troops, military families, and retirees. This level is sufficient to meet all estimated needs and requirements in the next fiscal year.

In addition, within the total $246 million is provided for cancer research, $150 million for medical facility upgrades, $125 million for traumatic brain injury and psychological health research, and an additional $39 million above the request for suicide prevention outreach programs. All of these funding levels represent increases above the President's request for these programs. The bill also restores $100 million to the Defense Commissary Agency to provide reduced-price food and household goods for service-members and their families.

Research and Development– The bill contains $63.4 billion – $368 million above the fiscal year 2014 enacted level and $171 million below the President's request – for research, development, testing, and evaluation of new defense technologies. These activities will help to advance the safety and success of current and future military operations, and will help prepare our nation to meet a broad range of future security threats.

Specifically, this funding will support research and development of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the KC-46A tanker program, the P8-A Poseidon, the new Air Force bomber program, a next generation JSTARS aircraft, the RQ-4 Triton Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, the Navy's Future Unmanned Carrier-based Strike System, the Ohio-class submarine replacement, the Army and Marine Corps Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, the Army Ground Combat Vehicle, the Israeli Cooperative Programs, and other important development programs.

Equipment Procurement– The legislation provides a total of $91.2 billion – $1.6 billion below the fiscal year 2014 enacted level and $1.6 billion above the President's request – for equipment and upgrades. This funding will help ensure our nation's military readiness by providing the necessary platforms, weapons, and other equipment our forces need to train, maintain our force, and conduct successful operations.

For example, the bill includes $14.3 billion to procure six Navy ships, including $789 million for the USS George Washington carrier refueling project; $5.8 billion for 38 F-35 aircraft; $1.6 billion for 7 KC-46A tankers; $975 million for 12 EA-18G Growlers; $2.4 billion for 87 UH-60 Blackhawk and 37 MH-60S/R helicopters; and $351 million for the Israeli Cooperative Program – Iron Dome.

Guantanamo Bay– The legislation prohibits funding for transfers of Guantanamo detainees to the U.S. or its territories and denies funding to modify any facility in the U.S. to house detainees. These provisions are identical to language contained in the House-passed fiscal year 2015 Defense Authorization legislation.

Savings and Reductions to President's Request– The bill reflects common-sense decisions to save taxpayer dollars where possible in areas that will not affect the safety or success of our troops and missions. Some of these savings include: $547 million for favorable foreign currency fluctuations, $592 million for overestimation of civilian personnel costs, and $965 million in savings from rescissions of unused prior-year funding.

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