Huffman Votes Against Defense Appropriations Act, Votes to Curtail NSA Surveillance

Press Release

Congressman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) today voted against the FY 2015 Defense Appropriations Act (H.R. 4870. Huffman voted for a number of amendments to improve the bill, including the Lofgren amendment, which curtails the NSA's domestic surveillance program, and the Lee amendment to prevent further escalation in Iraq.

The bill appropriates $491 billion in funding for the Department of Defense -- an increase of approximately $4.1 billion from the year before, and $201 million above the President's request. The bill provides military personnel with $830 million below the President's request yet funds the weapon procurement accounts a full $1.6 billion more than the President's request.

"The bill passed by the House today prevents the closure of the shameful Guantanamo Bay detention facility and mandates spending on weapons systems and bases the Pentagon says we no longer need," Huffman said. "However, I was pleased to vote for the Lofgren amendment, which bars the National Security Agency's warrantless surveillance of Americans' emails and phone calls. When the House passed the USA FREEDOM Act last month, I argued that more needed to be done, and the passage of this amendment is a strong step in the right direction.

Among the provisions in the bill Congressman Huffman opposed:

Guantanamo -- continues the prohibition on the transfer of detainees from Guantanamo Bay detention camp. Also prohibits the use of any funds to construct or renovate an alternative facility for the future transfer of detainees.
Nuclear weapons -- prevents the Department of Defense from decommissioning or removing from "warm status" any ground based Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles. Continues misguided funding for new nuclear-armed cruise missiles.
Missile defense -- increases funding above the President's request for missile defense programs.
Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) account -- continues the OCO "slush fund," approving $79.4 billion without any specific direction regarding its use.
Green technology -- severely limits Department of Defense efforts to explore alternative energy sources to support American energy independence and secure the safety of troops in the field.
Base Closure -- prohibits the use of funds to propose, plan for, or execute an additional BRAC round.
Land mines -- prohibits the use of funds to implement international treaties against the use of land mines.
Key amendments supported by Congressman Huffman:

Lofgren/Massie/Sensenbrenner-- to prohibit warrantless searches of government databases for information that pertains to U.S. citizens and to prohibit funds from being used by NSA or CIA to place "backdoors" in commercial products. (Amendment passed)
Lee -- to prohibit funds from being used pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq of 2002. (Amendment failed)
Lee -- to prohibit the use of funds pursuant to the broad 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force. (Amendment failed)
Lee -- to prohibit funds from being used to conduct combat operations in Afghanistan after December 31, 2014. (Amendment failed)
Nadler -- to allow the Department of Defense to reduce or decommission ground-based ICBM silos or convert these silos to a status other than "warm status." (Amendment failed)
Lee -- to prohibit funds from being used to conduct any combat mission in Iraq excluding the protection of the U.S. Embassy. (Amendment failed)
Moran -- to allow the Department of Defense to move forward with the closure of Guantanamo. (Amendment failed)
Fortenberry -- to prohibit funds from being used to provide weapons in Syria. (Amendment failed)

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