U.S. Rep. Rubén Hinojosa (TX-15) voted to support our troops and their families by providing them with the weapons, support, and equipment they need. The Defense Appropriations Act makes critical investments in the health, well-being and readiness of our armed forces, and includes a number of emergency provisions to help American families weather this recession.

“This bill is about keeping a promise to our troops and putting their needs first,” said Hinojosa. “I made a commitment to give the servicemen and women and their families in my district the best possible care for their service to this country. With this bill, I am keeping that commitment and helping to protecting them as they go into battle in defense of our nation.

“The Defense Appropriations Act keeps our commitments to our troops and their families by including a 3.4% pay raise for our military. We also continue to pay our troops an additional $500 for every month their term of service is involuntarily extended by the practice of stop loss. To keep our men and women in uniform and their families healthy, we invest more than $29 billion in the Defense Health Program and boost funding to support our military families with programs like child care, job training for spouses, and expanded counseling services.”

This legislation provides our military with first class equipment to protect our troops on the battlefield and make sure that our soldiers are well-prepared for any challenge that comes their way. It gives them the weapons they need to fight the wars of today and prepare for the battles of tomorrow. For the first time since the beginning of operations in Iraq, this bill also honestly budgets for Overseas Deployment and other activities in Iraq and Afghanistan for the upcoming fiscal year.

“It’s absolutely crucial that our troops are prepared for battle with the best possible equipment, from body armor to vehicles,” said Hinojosa. “This bill makes key investments in troop readiness so that every American soldier has what he or she needs to protect themselves, their fellow soldiers and our country.”

This legislation also makes a commitment to fiscal responsibility by reigning in outsourcing and putting Defense personnel, not contractors, in charge of critical department functions. At the same time, it will allow the Inspector General to hire additional investigators to ensure proper oversight of Department of Defense acquisition and contracting.

“As with all of our appropriations legislation, we have been looking closely at every line of our budget to eliminate and cut programs that aren’t working, and invest responsibly in key priorities that will protect our country and grow our economy,” said Hinojosa.

To help Americans hit hardest by this recession, this bill also provides emergency relief by extending unemployment insurance, helping with health insurance premiums through the COBRA program, and funding for nutrition assistance programs to help families in need put food on their table.