Mike Rogers: What the NDAA means for East Alabama
As you may have seen, the House of Representatives just passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2017. It is the 55th consecutive NDAA, legislation that authorizes funding for the Department of Defense and ensures that Congress fulfills its constitutional duty to make sure that our warfighters have the training and equipment that they need. In addition to setting the priorities for our national defense, this legislation also has language that could be important to folks across East Alabama. For example, an amendment was included that would help installations like the Anniston Army Depot in Calhoun County retain a skilled and knowledgeable workforce. The amendment would make it easier for the Depot to hire temporary and term employees for permanent positions as they became available. This authority will allow the Depot to be as agile and nimble as possible in their support of the Army as they confront the ever-changing security threats from ISIS to Russia. Another example of how the legislation could impact East Alabama is by forcing the Secretary of the Army to transfer its surplus vintage firearms to the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP). From there the CMP would take these vintage pistols and inspect, grade and prepare them for sale. If this sounds familiar, it’s because last year in the same bill we ask that the Army turn over the pistols. Unfortunately, in what has become an all too common occurrence, the Obama Administration has chosen not to follow directives that Congress passes. With the language included in this year’s House bill, the Army will have no choice but to turn over the pistols to the CMP. The NDAA also included full funding of the missile defense request of our great allies in Israel for co-development and coproduction of Iron Dome, David’s Sling and Arrow 3. This funding is even more important now with Iran developing its missile technology at an alarming rate as a result of the President’s ill-conceived deal. This legislation will help fund our brave men and women in uniform, keep our country safe from harm and will include these common sense solutions. I am pleased to have worked on this important legislation. • • • Mike Rogers is a member of U.S. Congress representing Alabama’s 3rd Congressional District.
Mike Rogers: CMP could sell vintage firearms
As many of you across east Alabama may have seen or heard in the news: The National Defense Authorization Act recently passed the U.S. House of Representatives with my strong support. This critical piece of legislation outlines how Congress will support our nation’s military. I was relieved to see that Congress increased the overall authorized funding for our nation’s military. Several key provisions important to east Alabama made it into the bill. The first was a commitment to help protect jobs at important military facilities like the Anniston Army Depot, one of the Army’s most productive and efficient facilities. Folks across east Alabama may remember a few years ago when the depot had to furlough some workers because of the Pentagon’s poor budget management. The new provision would protect facilities like the depot that operate under the Working Capital Fund from being forced to furlough workers in order to meet arbitrary budget demands from the Pentagon. Another was my amendment to allow the Army to transfer its surplus vintage firearms to the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) which has its southern headquarters in Anniston and will soon have the CMP park open in June in Talladega County. If you’re a gun owner like I am, you may be familiar with the M1911A1. This iconic pistol used to serve as the standard U.S. armed forces sidearm, until it was replaced by the Berretta 9mm pistol. Although a few thousand of these pistols have been sold to foreign countries for a small fee, the remainder are in storage. That costs the taxpayer about $200,000 a year. As a strong supporter of Second Amendment rights, I believe this bill is a common-sense approach to not only save the taxpayer money, but to allow gun collectors to add this vintage pistol to their collection. It is my hope that both provisions will stay in the bill as the process moves forward in the Senate. I also hope the administration will ultimately support them. Providing for our national defense is a top priority to keep our country safe and our defenses strong. Mike Rogers represents Alabama’s 3rd Congressional District. He’s in his eighth term. You can sign up for his e-Newsletter at www.mikerogers.house.gov.
