We need to support our troops to ensure that they have adequate training and equipment.  In 2007 and 2008, I voted with the 110th Congress to provide more funding for military personnel and veterans than the administration requested.

I believe that the best way to protect our troops is to bring them home from the occupation of Iraq.  My vote for strict timelines for withdrawal corresponded with the hundreds of responses I heard from the people in the 9th Congressional District.

The National Guard has been stretched too thin by extended tours overseas.  Their primary function is to respond to emergencies within the United States.  I believe they should be readily available to respond when needed during catastrophes like Hurricane Katrina.

I supported S. 3001, the FY 2009 Defense Authorization, representing a House-Senate agreement on the bill. Some of the key provisions are:

Restoring Readiness

• National Guard and Reserve equipment— $800 million
• Equipment Reset— $8.6 billion for Army and $1.8 billion for Marine Corps 

 Increasing Capabilities in Afghanistan 

• Requires a report on the command and control structure for military forces operating in Afghanistan
• Requires reporting on enhancing security and stability in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region

Improving Inter-Agency Coordination 

• Establishes an advisory panel on ways to improve coordination among DOD, State and USAID on matters relating to national security

Our Service Members and Their Families

• A pay raise of 3.9%, an increase of 0.5% above the budget request.
• Prohibits increased premiums and co-pays for TRICARE recipients and increased user fees for the TRICARE retail pharmacy program.
• Increases the size of the Army by 7,000, the Marine Corps by 5,000, the Navy by 1,023 and the Air Force by 450 above the requested levels.
• Authorizes $3.2 billion to expand quality family housing
• Encourages the use of preventive care services by TRICARE beneficiaries.
• Establishes a task force on suicide prevention
• Provides tuition assistance and training opportunities for military spouses
• $35 million for Impact Aid to help local educational agencies supporting our military children
• Authorizes a pilot program to allow a service member to be released from active duty for a maximum of three years to focus on professional goals outside of the military.
• Permanently prohibits service members from being charged for meals at military treatment facilities
• Authorizes ten days paternity leave
• Expands the phased-in annuity authorized in the FY08 NDAA to surviving spouses of members who die while serving on active duty.

General Contractor Oversight

Contains several provisions aimed at increasing oversight of contractors both at home and overseas. These include:

• The Clean Contracting Act of 2008, to promote competition in federal contracting;
• Creation of Configuration Steering Boards for major acquisition programs;
• A study on the use of off-shore subsidiaries by DOD contractors; and
• A database of information on contractors who violate the law.

Protecting Our Service Members

• Authorizes $1.7 billion for MRAP vehicles for our troops overseas. 
• Directs additional research and development of unexploded ordnance detection technologies
• Adds authority for DOD to conduct proper oversight and survivability testing of personnel protective equipment

Iraq Policy

• Prohibits any funds for training and support of the Iraqi Security Forces from being used on infrastructure
• Authorizes the hire of recipients of special visas granted to Iraqi translators who worked for U.S. forces in Iraq.
• Requires a strategy to establish measures of PRT effectiveness and performance
• Prohibits the use of funds to establish permanent bases in Iraq and prohibits U.S. control of Iraqi oil revenues.

The FY 2009 Defense Appropriations (as part of H.R. 2638, a consolidated appropriations bill), funds the provisions that were authorized in the FY 2009 Defense Authorization, which is outlined above.

I voted for H.R. 4986, the 2008 Defense Authorization Act, which addresses many of the needs of our military that have gone unmet, including: 

• A 3.5% pay increase for service members
• Prohibiting increases in TRICARE and pharmacy user fees
• An additional $980 million for National Guard and Reserve equipment
• Creating the Wounded Warrior Resource Center to give service members and their families a single point of contact to address their health care and benefits issues
• Requiring a comprehensive policy to address traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Authorizes $18.4 billion to fully address the Army’s stated equipment reset requirements and $8.6 billion to address the reset needs of the Marine Corps
• Authorizes 13,000 new soldiers in the Army and 9,000 new Marines

For additional information on the final language, you can read the Summary of the Conference Report HERE.

The Wounded Warriors Act, H.R. 1538, which responds to the Walter Reed scandal by improving the care of injured soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, was incorporated into H.R. 4986, FY 2008 Defense Authorization, which the President signed on January 28, 2008 (PL 110-181).

The FY 2008 Defense Appropriations, H.R. 3222, provides the funding for the military needs that were included in the 2008 Defense Authorization Act.

I co-sponsored a bill to provide tax relief for military families and veterans.  H.R. 6081, the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act (HEART Act), provides $1.2 billion in targeted tax breaks to military personnel and their families, including tax relief under the Earned Income Tax Credit, clarifies the availability of recovery rebates for military families, and expands homeownership opportunities for veterans.

I supported H.R. 3625, HEROS Act, which makes permanent the Secretary of Education’s authority to provide U.S. troops called to active duty with higher education relief, including providing them more leeway on repaying their student loans, by voice vote.

I co-sponsored the House version of the National Guard and Reservists Debt Relief Act, S. 3197, which makes it easier for members of the National Guard and Reserves called up for active duty in Iraq or Afghanistan, who are often required to leave their job behind at a moment’s notice, to file for bankruptcy, by exempting them from the means test requirements of the 2005 Bankruptcy Law.

I co-sponsored H.R. 3793, Veterans’ Guaranteed Bonus Act, which fully addresses the military bonus problems highlighted by the Dole-Shalala Commission – providing essential financial security to our wounded servicemen and women by guaranteeing full payment of bonuses earned and owed to them.