FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: May 19, 2016
Contact: Chris Evanson, (202) 868-0261
Grayson Passes Five Amendments in 24-Hour Period
Grayson passes four amendments in National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017;
Passes amendment in the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2017
Passes amendment in the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2017
WASHINGTON – Over a 24-hour period that ended today, Congressman Alan Grayson (D-FL09) passed five amendments, with the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (NDAA), and the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2017 (Mil-Con VA). Rep. Grayson has introduced more bills and passed more amendments, then any other Member of Congress in the past three years.
In the NDAA, Grayson passed an amendment that enhances pre-separation counseling for departing military service members—known in the military community as Transition Assistance Programs or TAPS—by providing substance abuse counseling that emphasizes alcohol, prescription drug, and opioid abuse. This counseling includes information about the availability of treatment options and resources available to combat addiction.
“I am extremely proud to pass important legislation that supports our military veterans, and their dependents,” said Congressman Alan Grayson. “There is overwhelming evidence linking substance abuse in the veteran community to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), homelessness, and suicide. Equipping our servicemen and women with substance abuse counseling is an absolute necessity, and I am committed to providing them better, more accessible resources as they make the transition home.”
The NDAA also features Grayson’s amendment that requires the Secretary of Defense to consider “comparable quality of service,” ensuring that military service members receive the same quality of health care services in the private sector as they would normally receive at military facilities, when contracted out by the Department of Defense. Grayson also had language adopted that will promote nuclear fusion technology, and requires the Secretary of Energy (DOE) to notify Congress of innovative designs for fusion energy systems that have the potential to produce energy within 15 years of the start of construction.
“Fusion energy has the potential to completely change how we power everything,” said Grayson. “Fusion energy is going to happen. Whether it happens 15 years from now, or 50 years from now, depends on the decisions that we make. The United States now has the tools necessary to carry out a fusion innovation initiative which will accelerate fusion reactor research and development. My amendment requires the Department of Energy to tell us, within six months, of any design that could achieve ignition within 15 years.”
Grayson also introduced legislation adopted in the NDAA that secures a one-year extension for the Special Survivor Indemnity Allowance (SSIA). The SSIA, which was scheduled to expire October 1, 2017, provides financial relief for approximately 60,000 widows and widowers of military veterans.
“The SSIA helps the families of our troops who die in service, or as a result of their service. I could not contemplate allowing a program like that to terminate,” said Grayson. “We need to ensure that everyone who answers the call of duty knows, and knows well, that if he or she cannot make it home, then our nation stands with their families, and our loyalty to them will never expire.”
Lastly, Grayson passed an amendment in the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2017 that prohibits the military from using funds to enter into contracts with organizations or individuals that have committed crimes.
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Congressman Alan Grayson represents Florida’s 9th Congressional District, which includes Osceola County, as well as parts of Orange and Polk Counties.
Grayson.House.Gov
