Diaz-Balart Votes to Support our Troops, Military Readiness in Defense Appropriations Bill

WASHINGTON ­­– Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-25), Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, issued the following statement after the Committee approved the fiscal year 2019 Defense bill.

"We must always ensure the readiness of our military. I am pleased the Defense Appropriations bill includes funding for new equipment purchases and modernization, as well as funding for further research and development, giving our troops access to state-of-the-art technology on the frontlines. It also provides federal dollars to expand our ship and aircraft fleet, better supporting our counterterrorism and defense operations. The bill authorizes a 2.6% pay raise for our troops, a significant sign of support for our brave servicemen and servicewomen and their sacrifice.

"I congratulate Chairman Frelinghuysen and Subcommittee Chairwoman Granger on the committee passage of this bill, and look forward to working with them on House passage to provide our troops with the robust resources they need to protect our freedom."

As a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, Diaz-Balart worked with his colleagues to secure the following funding in the fiscal year 2019 Defense bill:

• $674.6 billion in military spending--$19 billion increase from FY18 Omnibus to maintain the upward trend in readiness of our military
• 2.6% pay raise for the troops
• Adds 15,600 troops to military end strength
• Ensures military payments for families of deceased service members cannot be interrupted by future government shutdowns
• $145.7 billion for new equipment purchases and modernization
• $22 billion for 12 more ships for the Navy including destroyers and submarines, to continue our path to the optimal 355-ship Navy
  • Aims to redirect the Navy to more evenly divide maintenance and overhaul work on our ships between private and public shipyards
• Over $37 billion for aircraft Department-wide
  • 93 F-35 fighters for the Air Force, in addition to a host of other support aircraft
  • $40 million for initial procurement of a Light Attack aircraft to augment our counterterrorism operations
• Upgrades to the Army's Stryker armored vehicles and Abrams tanks and adds new Bradley fighting vehicles
• Over $90 billion for research and development, which will result in the new B-21 bomber, updated ballistic missile systems and continued progress in our space launch program
• $1.4 billion for defense-related medical research, including spinal cord injury, substance abuse disorders and trauma and psychological health
• $854 million to support the military's drug interdiction and counter-drug activities
• Much-needed military support to allies and partners including Israel ($500 million) and Ukraine ($250 million)