Steve Stivers: “I thank the chairman for yielding time. This National Defense Authorization Act is really important. As a Member of…”

“I thank the chairman for yielding time. This National Defense Authorization Act is really important. As a Member of Congress and as a member of the military, I have raised my right hand and taken an oath to protect against all enemies, foreign and domestic; and, in fact, defending our country is our primary duty as policymakers here in Washington. I am pleased that the budget agreement that was reached a couple of weeks ago will pave the way for a National Defense Authorization Act to get passed now. It was really unfortunate that the President chose to veto that over domestic spending priorities, but I am glad that we are here where we can actually fix some of the things that need fixed. This bill, as you have heard, protects and helps 83 percent of our servicemen and -women who don't reach 20 years of service. It allows them to walk away with something. More importantly, this bill will help reduce the incidence of suicide among our members of the military. Suicide is an epidemic in our military right now. They have been through a lot over the last 10 or 15 years, and we need to give them the help they need. This bill helps do that. This bill makes other very important reforms in the acquisition process, but, most importantly, it gets the soldiers in harm's way the resources they need to do their job.…”