WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Rep. Harold "Hal" Rogers (KY-05) applauds House passage of the Conference Report for the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2019 to strengthen and modernize the military.

"One of the most important Constitutional duties of Congress is to provide for the common defense, and I'm proud that this comprehensive legislation increases the size of our military and ensures our troops have access to the best possible resources to protect our homeland and neutralize threats at home and abroad," said Rogers, who voted for the NDAA conference report. "This bill also provides for our military families and authorizes a 2.6% pay raise for our troops."  

To help restore military readiness, the NDAA Conference Report authorizes $17.7 billion to begin to rehabilitate and replace worn out Army equipment; $40.8 billion to begin to overcome the crisis in military aviation by getting more aircraft in the air; $36.3 billion to restore America’s strength at sea, and $23.5 billion to sustain, repair and rebuild crumbling military buildings and other infrastructure.

America’s military is facing challenges on multiple fronts, including the troubling increase in serious training accidents; the re-emergence of competitors like Russia and China; the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea; and the imperative to keep up the pressure on ISIS, al Qaeda, and other terrorist groups. The Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act implements new reforms designed to speed decision making and improve military agility, while simultaneously restoring readiness and increasing capability and capacity in a force that has been asked to do too much with too little for too long.

Since President Trump took office, the Administration and Congress have prioritized rebuilding the military. The Administration issued a new National Security Strategy, National Defense Strategy, and a Nuclear Posture Review to address a world with a wider spectrum of serious threats than at any time in recent history. The FY19 NDAA Conference Report focuses rebuilding efforts on these new strategies.

The NDAA Conference Report complies with the bipartisan budget agreement and supports a base budget of $639.1 billion, including significant increases for improving the readiness of our military forces. The conference report is the result of rigorous bipartisan oversight, numerous visits with military personnel and facilities across the country and around the world.