Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, for the first time in decades, this year's Defense bill carries a different short title. It is the Servicemember Quality of Life and National Defense Authorization Act. We did that to underscore the tremendous gains this bill makes toward improving the quality of life for our servicemembers and their families. No servicemember should have to live in squalid conditions. No military family should have to rely on food stamps to feed their children. No one serving this country should have to wait weeks to see a doctor or mental health professional. That is exactly what many of our servicemembers are experiencing, especially our junior enlisted personnel. This bill goes a long way toward fixing that. It includes a 20 percent pay raise for junior enlisted. It expands allowances for housing and food and improves the cost-of-living calculation. The bill authorizes $766 million over the budget request to improve existing barracks and build new ones. It enables the services to pursue public-private partnerships to provide better unaccompanied housing. The bill reduces dangerous healthcare wait times by waiving referral requirements for specialty care and expanding the number of DOD doctors and nurses with special recruitment and pay authorities.…”