Washington, D.C. – Today, House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) made the following statement on the passage of the FY 18 NDAA out of Committee:

“The FY 18 NDAA contains a number of provisions that are important for the national security of the United States. I commend Chairman Thornberry for the efficiency and bipartisanship with which the Armed Services Committee developed this legislation. The Chairman is always committed to getting the job done on behalf of our men and women in uniform and, under his leadership, our Committee continues to be a model that I hope the rest of Congress can emulate.

“This legislation includes needed measures to strengthen deterrence against Russia, and to develop a comprehensive strategy against President Putin’s effort to corrode and undermine democracy worldwide. It also makes substantial investments to fill genuine military readiness needs; strengthens congressional oversight of sensitive cyber operations; acknowledges the importance of climate change to national security; and steers away from policy riders that could distract from the job of securing the United States and our allies.

“I am, nevertheless, concerned about Congress’s continued unwillingness to make realistic choices about how we fund our national security. We have not adopted a budget resolution, we do not have a clear plan to lift or modify the caps imposed by the Budget Control Act, and it is unclear whether the amounts authorized in this bill will ultimately correspond with reality. I do not believe that we can afford to continue cutting taxes and insisting deficits must go down without raising revenue, nor can we impose devastating cuts on our other urgent national priorities while denying the need to prioritize which defense programs will best enhance our national security.”

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