Inhofe and Mikulski Praise Passage of Amendment Protecting Commissary Benefits

Press Release

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), today praised the passage of the Inhofe-Mikulski amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2016. The amendment requires an assessment to be conducted on the benefits and costs of privatizing commissaries prior to any pilot program on our military bases. The amendment garnered great bipartisan support of co-sponsors Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Robert Casey (D-Pa.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), David Vitter (R-La.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) and Thad Cochran (R-Miss.).

"Today Congress stood in strong bipartisan support of protecting commissary benefits for our nation's service members, their families and our veterans," Inhofe said. "The support of more than 40 outside organizations made the passage of this amendment possible as they provided a face to the millions who depend on this benefit. This amendment puts all efforts to prioritize commissaries on hold, requiring instead an assessment on privatizing before we make significant changes to our service member's commissary benefits. There are too many unknowns as to whether privatization could directly impact military members' ability to provide for their families as well as the potential for it to affect retention. I applaud the Senate for working together and passing this legislation that directly benefits all our military and their families."

"We took a step forward to protect America's military families today," Mikulski said. "I'm all for eliminating pentagon waste, but no money is wasted at a commissary. In fact, just the opposite happens. Commissaries feed our troops. They help military families stretch their budgets, and they provide jobs to military spouses, children old enough to work, and military retirees. And commissaries are the military's most popular earned benefit. Of all the places that we can save money, let's not go after commissaries. Let's keep their doors open to provide low-cost, healthy food to our service members and their families until we're certain there's a better alternative."

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