(Washington, DC) – Congressman Charles W. Boustany, Jr., M.D., (R-South Louisiana) issued the following statement after supporting House passage of the National Defense Authorization Act.

On May 22, the House voted to pass H.R. 4435, the FY2015 National Defense Authorization Act. The Senate passed S. 2410 through the Senate Armed Services Committee on the same day. Today’s vote is the product of bipartisan negotiations between the House and Senate to continue authorization of funding for the Department of Defense (DoD) and related activities through FY2015. The legislation includes $520.5 billion in topline defense spending.

Currently, there are over 46,000 military personnel stationed in Louisiana, including 15,000 active duty military and 30,000 Reserve and National Guard members. Major bases in the state include the U.S. Army’s Ft. Polk installation outside of Leesville, LA, and Barksdale Air Force Base outside of Bossier City, LA.

The NDAA bill passed today also contains the language of S. 2440, the BLM Permit Processing Improvement Act, which streamlines Bureau of Land Management (BLM) application processing for oil and gas development on federal lands. Louisiana’s energy industry has been strongly supportive of this measure.

Boustany said: “A strong America means a safer world. Today’s vote reaffirms our commitment to our military and its mission to defend freedom and the American way of life. With rising threats around the globe like Russia, Iran, North Korea, and ISIL, we can’t afford to stand idle while our enemies test our resolve. America must demonstrate bold leadership on the world stage, and having a military capable of projecting power to every part of the globe is a key component of that comprehensive strategy.”

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