Highlighting the importance of “peace through strength,” U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced more than 30 amendments to the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2019 during U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee markup, which concluded on May 24.
In total, bipartisan members of the committee submitted more than 300 amendments to the defense spending bill. The committee approved sending the measure to the Senate floor on a vote of 25-2.
“There is no better way to lead our country during tumultuous times than peace through strength, and ensuring our military is properly equipped and funded is a crucial element of that,” Cruz said. “This year, we continued building on the investments made in our military under unified Republican leadership. This NDAA includes another significant increase to our troops’ take-home pay to properly compensate the brave men and women who serve in our military.”
Amendments introduced by Cruz would direct $158 million to military construction projects in Texas, including a new basic military training dormitory at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland and a new warehouse at the Red River Army Depot. Additional Cruz amendments would reform the U.S. National Guard promotion process, establish a grant program for infrastructure projects near military communities, require a report on the U.S. Department of Defense’s use of resilient energy technology, and direct the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) to draft a plan to modernize critical infrastructure at the Pantex Plant in Amarillo Texas.
“This legislation also makes investments and establishes policies that deter aggression and defeat global threats,” Cruz said. “ I am proud of what we accomplished in the Armed Services Committee to support our men and women in uniform, and I look forward to swift passage by the Senate.”
Cruz introduced amendments to strengthen U.S. posture toward China, to address emerging threats in Iran, Syria and Yemen, to extend and increase War Reserves Stock Allies-Israel, to require the Defense Intelligence Agency to report on Russian interference in the Western hemisphere, to use infrastructure to broadcast factual news in North Korea, and to bolster missile defense systems.