By Blake Haas
BLOOMINGTON – On the heels of the vote, a central Illinois Republican is touting a victory in the National Defense Authorization Act that provides pay raises to military members.
Congressman Rodney Davis (R-Taylorville) said the legislation passed with bipartisan support.
“What this does is it funds our military. I would never be for defunding our military. We also began the first step in implementing what I would consider an updated Selective Service System. You don’t have to look too far than down the street at maybe the Universities that are near you in Bloomington-Normal, where many students may have forgotten, may not have known, what have you for the Selective Service.
And they could be punished years down the road if they go for a job in the Federal Government or if they are applying for financial aid.”
The bill, which 51 Democrats and 19 Republicans voted against, authorizes $250 million to conduct counter-terrorism operations in Afghanistan.
In addition, the bill provides investments in new and emerging weapon systems.
“For the life of me, I do not know why, I do not know why anyone would of voted against this legislation,” Davis told WJBC’s Todd Wineburner. “We fixed some of the provisions that we did not necessarily like in the original House version, being a red flag provision for our military. And also, we made sure that if somebody like me is against vaccine mandates, this bill ensures that any soldier who decides to exercise their right to not take any vaccine that they’re not going to be dishonorably discharged.
According to Davis, the bill reverses President Biden’s defense budget cuts and restores shipbuilding and missile defense funding.
The legislation passed the House by a vote of 363-70.
Blake Haas can be reached at [email protected].
