Peter Visclosky: “I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum), a member of the subcommittee. Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr.…”

“I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum), a member of the subcommittee. Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Chair, for more than a decade, this House has been committed to providing our troops with the body armor they need. Body armor is essential to our deployed troops. In order to provide our troops with modern, lightweight body armor, the Department requires a viable industrial base to produce the body armor and to continually work to improve it. The fiscal year 2015 NDAA Defense Appropriations bill sustaining the industrial base was prioritized; $80 million was appropriated to the Army to specifically sustain the industrial base for body armor. Those FY15 funds have not been obligated, and as a result, the industrial base for body armor is laying off workers and about to go out of business. The Army has ignored Congress' directions and put this industry at risk. The FY16 Defense Appropriations report makes a commitment to body armor, saying: The committee encourages the Secretary of the Army to ensure that the body armor industrial base is able to continue to develop and manufacture more advanced body armor. Unfortunately, the supplier of boron carbide power to make armor plates will be out of business before this bill is enacted. Furthermore, this bill provides zero funds for the procurement of body armor, another blow to the industrial base. We all share a strong commitment to our troops, fully understanding how important body armor is to soldier protection.…”