Press Releases

On Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the 2020 Fiscal Year National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by a vote of 220-197. U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz issued the following statement on his vote in opposition to the measure:

“This year’s NDAA isn’t sufficient for our troops and is full of troubling provisions which would seriously impact our goal to defeat terror around the globe. There are far too many dangerous limitations for our warfighters in this bill for me to support it,” Waltz said.

Though traditionally bipartisan, this year’s NDAA contained many politically-charged policies, including a disapproval of authorization to fight the War on Terror. The bill also includes prohibitions on military force against Iran and Iraq, closure of Guantanamo Bay without an alternative, restrictions on the President’s ability to construct physical barriers and send troops to the Southern Border and ignorance of Russia and China’s nuclear missile capabilities.

The bill also cuts $17 billion from the overall topline spending number requested by the President and military generals and is significantly different than the Senate version of the NDAA, which passed by a vote of 86-8. House Democrats voted against the same bipartisan spending levels provided in the Senate bill.

Waltz supported some measures in the bill like the formation of a Space Corps, restricting contracts with the Maduro regime, fully funding antisubmarine capabilities, assistance for Gold Star families and light attack aircraft acquisition.

“Making cuts for our troops and repealing the authorization for their missions while they’re overseas is irresponsible. We have a moral obligation to protect our servicemembers’ best interests, just as they protect our interests at home,” Waltz said. “Before this bill is given to the

President, I hope we can come together for a bipartisan agreement for the good of our troops.”