e-News 11/6/15

• A ‘Shot in the Arm’ for our Infrastructure and Economy
• Mr. President: Sign the Defense Policy Bill
• Happy Birthday United States Marines!
• Veterans History Project
• Salute: Milestone for “Friends of the Bloomfield Library

A ‘Shot in the Arm’ for our Infrastructure and Economy

Modernizing this country’s infrastructure should be a top priority of the federal government.  This week, the House passed the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act which reforms many surface transportation programs to accelerate project delivery and promote flexibility to local governments to address their most critical needs.

This measure:

• Encourages Innovation
• Increases State and Local Control of Transportation Investment
• Maintains a Strong Commitment To Safety

Noteworthy for our region is $60 billion included in the bill for mass transit improvements.

Smart investment in our nation’s roads, bridges, and highways and the ability to keep goods moving safely and efficiently, is vital to the health and growth of our economy. This bill gives our infrastructure and our economy a ‘shot in the arm.’

Read more about STRR here.

Mr. President: Sign the Defense Policy Bill

Thursday morning, the House passed a new, second version of the National Defense Authorization bill – the annual measure that sets our defense policies for the next year. 

We had to pass this second defense authorization bill because the President unwisely vetoed the first bill we approved last month.  

When the President sent this bill back to Congress last week, he encouraged us to "do this right."

We have done “it right.” The bill we are sending back to the President is good for our troops, for their families and good for the country. 

This overwhelming bipartisan bill is an effective measure to strengthen American leadership around the world; responsibly fund the military; and give our troops and their families the pay and benefits they earned.

At a time when we face more extensive and serious threats to our security than ever before, it gives our armed forces new tools to take on those who threaten America. So I hope the President will drop the politics and sign this policy bill.

But when it comes to our national security, my Defense Appropriations Committee “pays the bills.”  Between now and the next budget deadline – December 11 – we will be working to draft a security spending bill consistent with the two-year budget outline approved last week.

The U.S. faces more national-security threats than at any time since the end of World War II.  And our appropriations bill will allow our armed forces to meet those threats.

For more information on the NDAA, click here.

Happy Birthday United States Marines!

On Wednesday, I was honored to stand next to General Robert Neller, the 37^th Commandant of the Marine Corps, as he cut the birthday cake celebrating the 240^th anniversary of the founding of the United States Marines on November 10.   

On that date in 1775, the Second Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia passed a resolution stating that "two Battalions of Marines be raised" for service as landing forces with the fleet. This resolution established the Continental Marines and marked the birth date of the United States Marine Corps.

In my remarks, I paid tribute to the bravery and sacrifice of the Marines throughout our nation’s history: at Belleau Wood, Iwo Jima, Chosin Reservoir, Khe Sanh, Fallujah and Marjah.

All of us can do no better than to try to live up to the Marine Corps’ values of integrity, courage and commitment and their unbending code of honor.  

Veterans History Project

Veterans Day is quickly approaching and now is a good time to explore new ways to honor the men and women who have served this nation in uniform over the years.

In 2000, Congress created the Veterans History Project (VHP) and since then, VHP has archived over 96,000 stories from American veterans, including accounts of every war from World War I to recent Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts.

The growth of this collection is supported by volunteers — Scout troops, students, family members, neighbors — who interview the veterans in their lives and submit their oral histories to VHP.

Learn more about how you can contribute to the Veterans History Project here.

Salute: To the “Friends of the Bloomfield Library” which celebrated its 80^th anniversary recently.  According to the Bloomfield Independent Press, the Bloomfield group is the oldest “friends of a library” organization east of the Mississippi.  The “Friends of the Bloomfield Library” has raised over $1 million from the library since 1935!