Moolenaar Votes for Funding the Military and Giving Our Soldiers a Raise

Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 6157, the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, which funds the Department of Defense for the 2019 fiscal year that begins on October 1, 2018.

Congressman John Moolenaar voted for the legislation and made the following statement:

"Today's legislation gives our men and women in uniform a well-deserved pay raise, provides for their families, and gives them the resources they need to keep our country safe. Over the last few years, the military has had to overcome funding disruptions and training accidents that have hurt its ability to defend our country. This legislation puts our troops first, with funding to upgrade equipment and improve readiness, so they can prepare more safely and win on the battlefield."

Additional Details

Additional details on the legislation from the House Appropriations Committee are below.

Military Personnel and Pay – The legislation includes $144 billion to provide for 1,338,100 active-duty troops and 817,700 Guard and Reserve troops. The bill fully funds a 2.6 percent pay raise for the military.

Operation and Maintenance – Included in the legislation is $245.9 billion for operation and maintenance. This funding supports key readiness programs to prepare our troops for combat and peacetime missions, including flight time and battle training, equipment and facility maintenance, and base operations. This funding will help rebuild our forces to ensure our troops have the training and equipment they need.

Defense Health and Military Family Programs – The bill contains a total of $34.4 billion for the Defense Health Program to provide care for our troops, military families, and retirees. Specifically, the bill provides $364 million for cancer research, $125 million for traumatic brain injury and psychological health research, and $318 million for sexual assault prevention and response.

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