FY15 Department of Defense Appropriations Act Passes House
Press Release
Today Congressman Mo Brooks (AL-05) voted in favor of H.R. 4870, the Fiscal Year 2015 Defense Appropriations bill, which passed the House by a vote of 340 to73. The Defense Appropriations bill allocates $490.9 billion in discretionary funding, $4.1 billion more than the fiscal year 2014 enacted level.
Congressman Brooks said, "The number one priority of the federal government is to provide for national defense and thus the number one responsibility of Congress is to ensure our men and women in uniform have the resources they need to carry out their missions. Today the House made good on this commitment with passage of the FY15 Defense Appropriations bill. I'm pleased this legislation takes our current fiscal environment into consideration, and utilizes commonsense measures to cut funding for lesser priority items, without adversely affecting our military missions."
Brooks continued, "H.R. 4870 contains several key achievements for Alabama. It includes $368 million in increased funding for Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDTE). Additionally, the FY15 Defense Appropriations bill supports an agreement between Israel and the United States for co-production of Iron Dome, providing $351 million for the Israeli Iron Dome short-range rocket defense system, which helps to provide security for the Israeli populace while creating potential work for Tennessee Valley residents."
Brooks concluded, "Earlier this year, I worked with the House Armed Services Committee to secure $220 million in the FY15 National Defense Authorization Act to begin development of a domestically produced liquid rocket engine for space launch. The Defense Appropriations bill rightly matches this funding to expedite an end to America's dependence on Russian-made rocket engines. This will give American companies, many in North Alabama, the opportunity to compete for production of a brand new rocket engine."
Congressman Brooks sits on the House Armed Services Subcommittees on Strategic Forces and Oversight and Investigations. He is the founder and Co-Chair of the Army Aviation Caucus.
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