Dick Durbin: “I want to express my appreciation to Chairman Levin and Ranking Member Inhofe for their work on the defense…”

“I want to express my appreciation to Chairman Levin and Ranking Member Inhofe for their work on the defense authorization bill being considered in the Senate this week. It is officially titled the Carl Levin and Howard P. `Buck' McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015. It couldn't be more appropriate. This will be the 54th year in a row that Congress has passed the Defense Authorization. It has never been an easy task. Senator Levin has had a great deal to do with that annual labor of love. He has served as the highest ranking Democratic member on the committee since January 1997, and he has served as its Chairman for eleven of the last 14 years. Every year, he has kept the needs of our service members and their families front and center. It isn't an easy job. The Committee provides congressional oversight for more than half of all domestic discretionary spending . . . it analyzes every program line by line . . . and in this case worked with Members of both parties and both chambers to craft a consensus product. But the result is that our service members who are on the front lines will have what they need to protect our national security. In that spirit, this bill sustains in responsible ways the active duty, National Guard, and reserve forces our nation relies on every day. Even in this tough fiscal environment, the bill authorizes a 1 percent pay raise for military personnel below the general officer level.…”