Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5009. For the first time in decades, this year's defense bill carries a different name. It is the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act. We did that to underscore the tremendous gains this bill makes toward improving the quality of life of 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 in the military should have to wait to see a doctor. That is exactly what many of our servicemembers are experiencing, especially junior enlisted personnel. This bill goes a long way to fixing that. It includes a 15 percent pay raise for the junior enlisted. It expands allowances for housing and food. The bill significantly increases funding to improve existing barracks and build new ones. It encourages 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 new special recruitment and pay incentives. The bill improves access to childcare for military families by increasing investment in DOD childcare centers and fully funding childcare fee assistance programs.…”