NOTICIAS

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) released the following statement today after the Senate passed the final version of the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (S. 2943), which now heads to President Obama’s desk to be signed into law:

“America faces a growing number of threats around the world, and in recent years our military has been asked to do more overseas to keep us safe here at home. At the same time, our armed forces have been deprived of an adequate, long-term budget and subjected to damaging sequestration. As a consequence, our troops are suffering from readiness shortfalls and a growing procurement gap. We must ensure our men and women in uniform have the tools and resources they need to defend our nation, and that the incoming administration is able to restore our military capabilities to the level required to confront the many challenges ahead.

“The 2017 National Defense Authorization Act provides for our national defense and gives critical policy guidance to the Pentagon. For years, I’ve been pushing for our troops to get a well-deserved pay raise, and I’m pleased this bill provides them with the largest increase in six years. It also ensures Florida’s many military bases have the construction authorities they need, reverses the drawdown in troops requested by the president, and keeps in place the ban on bringing terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay to American soil.”

The Senate passed its version of the 2017 NDAA in June with Rubio’s support, and the House passed its version in May.