WASHINGTON, DC – The House passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2015 earlier today. Congressman Bill Shuster (R-Hollidaysburg) served as a conferee in the House and Senate negotiations and is a senior member on House Armed Services, the committee responsible for the annual legislation that authorizes funding for the Department of Defense.

During the May NDAA markup in the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), Congressman Shuster fought hard to ensure that no Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) language was included in the bill, protecting military instillations like Letterkenny Army Depot (LEAD) in Franklin County from draconian cuts to services for our military. Shuster, who is a senior member of HASC continued his fight to keep BRAC out of NDAA throughout the year, and worked with local entities such as Team Letterkenny, Letterkenny leadership, and union leadership, to ensure the final legislation passed today would be good for Franklin County, Pennsylvania, and all of America.

“Protecting Letterkenny will always be a top priority of mine every year when negotiating this legislation,” said Congressman Shuster. “This is another step forward in preventing cuts to the depot, but I am continuing to work closely with Franklin County community leaders, Letterkenny employees and leadership to develop a strategy if BRAC were to move forward in the future.”

The National Defense Authorization Act for FY 15 is the fifty-third consecutive NDAA. An earlier version was passed in the House in May, but a conference committee was required to negotiate differences between the House and Senate versions and produce a final version to be moved through both chambers. As one of the lead negotiators in the House, Congressman Shuster was a key negotiator in the process of crafting this legislation. The FY15 NDAA authorizes $521.3 billion in spending dedicated to national defense, with an additional $63.7 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations. Congressman Shuster has been committed to making fiscally responsible changes to our military to make it a more cost effective fighting force. In part due to Congressman Shuster’s leadership, the FY 15 NDAA authorizes $48 billion less than last year’s version.

“The men and women that make up our armed forces are the best in the world, and it is imperative that they have the necessary equipment and resources to protect our nation,” continued Shuster. “Recent events such as ISIL’s barbaric actions in the Middle East make clear that now is not the time to reduce our military’s role on a world stage. This fiscally responsible defense authorization makes certain that we continue to stand ready to face all threats from enemies to the United States.”

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