WASHINGTON – Congressman  Adam Putnam (R-Fla.), Chairman of the House Republican Conference, issued the following statement after the House of Representatives passed a landmark troop funding bill that includes a long-overdue modernization of the Montgomery GI Bill, providing expanded educational benefits to veterans and their family members:

“The passage of this vital funding measure marks a major victory for our troops in harm’s way, for our veterans who have served a proud nation honorably, and for the American taxpayer.

“First and foremost, this emergency troop funding bill provides our fighting men and women in harm’s way with the resources they need to succeed and return home – without hamstringing their mission or micromanaging their commanders. When you consider how far we have come from the day two Februaries ago when Democrat leaders in the House of Representatives first presented their plan to slow bleed our troops, this is truly a watershed moment.

“I’m also pleased with the fact that this supplemental will ensure that our troops will have access to the best possible educational benefits after they return home. As the sponsor of legislation to increase G.I. benefits and allow them – for the first time – to be transferred to veterans’ spouses and children, I am proud that Republicans were able to secure this key provision in the final bill. Earlier versions of this plan proposed by Sen. Webb did not allow our veterans to pass on G.I. benefits to their family members. But transferability recognizes the contributions and sacrifices made by the loved ones of our service members. It is a long-overdue reform, and I'm glad it will become law.

“And while it was House Democrats who sought to include a massive tax hike on the backs of small business owners, Republicans fought hard, held strong, and were successful in our efforts to protect the American taxpayer by working to see that this bill would not raise taxes.

“Finally, it should be the rule, not the exception, that Democrats and Republicans work together to make certain that our troops and their commanders have the funding they need to get the job done without hamstringing their mission. This vote should be a precedent, not an aberration.”

Since 2001, Putnam has represented Florida’s 12th Congressional District, which includes most of Polk County and portions of Hillsborough and Osceola counties.  As chairman of the Republican Conference, he is the third ranking member of his party’s leadership in the House of Representatives.

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