Huizenga Supports Higher Pay, Better Benefits for our Military & Defends West Michigan Jobs in Bipartisan Defense Bill

Statement

Today, Congressman Bill Huizenga (MI-02) released the following statement after voting in favor of S. 1790, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA):

"The National Defense Authorization Act improves our military readiness, invests in the development of emerging technologies, and provides the resources necessary to counter threats from our adversaries. Additionally, this bipartisan bill prioritizes our men and women serving as well as their families by providing the largest pay raise in a decade and expanding paid parental leave for up to 12 weeks."

"Lastly, this legislation, unlike the hyper-partisan bill passed by the House in July, maintains provisions preventing Federal Prison Industries (FPI)/UNICOR from utilizing no-bid contracts to take good-paying jobs away from hardworking taxpayers. The focus of the NDAA should be the security of the United States and ensuring our men and women in uniform have the tools and equipment necessary to complete their mission and come home safely. I will continue to sound the alarm against FPI's expansion as well as their use of prison labor to take jobs away from law-abiding citizens in West Michigan and communities across the nation.

Source