Rep. Ellison Statement on National Defense Authorization Act

Press Release

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) released the following statement today after voting against the fiscal year FY 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

"The defense spending bill passed today spends money on defunct weapons systems even the military thinks are substandard, like the A-10 and Littoral Combat Ship, while making it harder for working families and veterans to make ends meet. Republicans are happy to violate their own budget restrictions to increase defense spending by billions of dollars over the requests of the Department of Defense.

"We need a strong national defense, but the U.S. does not have a military readiness problem--we have too many Americans who are working harder every day for low wages. The 2016 NDAA signals to the world the U.S. government is willing to spend billions on outdated and unnecessary weapons systems at the cost of investing in our people. The spending in this bill is irresponsible and it does nothing to help working Americans who sit around the dinner table trying find a way to stretch their paychecks."

An amendment introduced by Rep. Ellison was included in the final bill:

Amendment# 266: An amendment to clarify that the NDAA is not an authorization for the use of force against Iran.

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