U.S. Rep. John Rutherford, R-Jacksonville, supported the passage of next year’s National Defense Authorization Act when it was approved by Congress last week.
When it passed the House, 35 Republicans voted against the measure, calling it “bloated and irresponsible.”
One described it as “a 4,408-page, $860 billion bill crafted behind closed doors, dropped on the House floor with less than 48 hours to read, and passed only by suspending the House’s normal rules,” and her labeled it “an insult to our military and the American people.”
Another said the bill squanders taxpayer dollars on Green New Deal initiatives, woke proposals and foreign-aid programs.
The bill was 10 inches thick, compared to last year’s, which was 2-inches thick — another indication that the lame-duck Democrat majority is going to do as much damage was possible before being replaced by a Republican majority.
Rutherford told Eye on Jacksonville the bill had some bad provisions, which is usually the case, but overall he deemed it worthy.
Rutherford said the bill gave troops a 4.6 percent raise and did away with vaccine mandates.
In addition, it saved Navy ships stationed in Jacksonville.
“They were going to cut 12 vessels, eight were littoral combat ships at Mayport. We saved five of those and got 11 new vessels, including two new subs.”
In his newsletter, Rutherford said Congress was finally able to drop the vaccine mandates that caused more than 8,000 service members to be discharged for their vaccination status.
“I have already joined Rep. Chris Smith in introducing H.R. 7570 to reinstate service members who were discharged throughout the vaccine mandate. I will continue working with House Republicans to ensure recruitment levels rise and make certain our troops receive the respect and honor they have earned,” he said.
“Under this year’s NDAA, Congress passed the bipartisan Improving Government for America’s Taxpayers Act , which will require the Government Accountability Office to submit an annual report to Congress on ways to improve government operations and save taxpayer dollars. I was pleased to cosponsor this legislation and am committed to finding ways to make our government more efficient and effective for every American.
“I urge President Biden to take immediate action to sign it into law.”
