House Approves Defense Authorization Act with Bipartisan Support

Statement

Congressman Allen West (FL-22) released the following statement today after the U.S. House of Representatives approved H.R. 1540, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, by a vote of 322 to 96. Included in the final bill were three YouCut bills introduced by Congressman West totaling $800 million in cuts to wasteful Department of Defense spending.

"After a lot of hard work, commitment and dedication by my fellow members of the House Armed Services Committee, yesterday the United States House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act with an overwhelming majority," West said. "By funding the Department of Defense, we've accomplished one of the most important missions as a Congress. We've passed a fiscally responsible budget focused on giving our military the tools and resources they need to uphold their mission in protecting our national security.

As I have stated, all government programs must be thoroughly scrutinized, including the Department of Defense. After serving 22 years in the United States Army, I am aware of areas where saving money is very possible and am especially proud of three amendments included in the Defense Authorization Bill that I sponsored:

* Reducing the printing and reproduction budget by 10%, generating $35.7 million in savings in FY12, reaching nearly $180 million in savings through FY16.

*Reducing funding for Defense studies, analysis and evaluations by 10%, generating a savings of $24 million in FY12, returning up to $120 million to the treasury through FY16.

* Restricting payout of annual nationwide adjustment and locality pay for below satisfactory workers, generating approximately $21 million in savings while increasing productivity in the workforce. As employees become more satisfactory in future years, the savings will be approximately $80 million through FY16.

Today is a day the American people should be proud of their elected Congressional representatives. We worked together in a bipartisan effort to pass this most important Defense Authorization Bill and I encourage the Senate to follow suit and work together to pass similar legislation."

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