Ander Crenshaw: Defense Appropriations Bill Will Help First Coast

The 2015 Defense Appropriations Bill passed the U.S. House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday and is now headed to the House floor. U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., who sits on the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, insisted that the bill will help the First Coasts military community.

My No. 1 priority is to provide our servicemen and women with the resources they need to protect our national security on the First Coast and wherever they serve, Crenshaw said. That commitment also means ensuring our military and their families receive the benefits and access to the housing and quality-of-life programs they have earned and deserve.

This bill accomplishes these goals across the board by retaining 11 cruisers (CG) in the Navy fleet and the refueling of the nuclear aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), Crenshaw added. These vessels have many years of service left in them and keeping them operational in the fleet only makes common sense.

Funding for the construction of 29 MH-60R Seahawk helicopters, nine P8-A Poseidon aircraft, five E-2D Advanced Hawkeyes, and the MQ-4 Triton program -- also included in the bill -- demonstrates strategic planning for a bold military and the key role of Northeast Florida military installations and the industrial base in protecting our national security. These assets will be spread throughout the country, including at our local bases, Crenshaw continued. We live in dangerous times, and now is not the time to cut back on defense. Naval Station Mayport and Naval Air Station Jacksonville are the East Coast home for the MH-60Rs, and the nations P-8A fleet, and Triton operations facility is based at Naval Air Station Jacksonville.

Crenshaw insisted the bill would help the military across the globe.

Our servicemen and women put their lives on the line for our freedom, and their families endure enormous sacrifice, Crenshaw said. This bill recognizes that devotion by funding a military pay raise at 1.8 percent (higher than the presidents request for a 1 percent increase) and providing for 100 percent of troop housing costs through the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH). Additionally, the bill continues to support the vital role that commissaries play and restores $100 million to the Defense Commissary Agency to provide reduced-price food and household goods for service members and their families.