- Senior member
of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense
- Secured funding
to provide our troops with the best equipment and protection possible, including funding for armored vehicles and high quality
body armor.
- Cosponsor of the Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act which seeks to address shortfalls in the treatment provided
to our wounded soldiers and veterans.
- Seeks to protect Pennsylvania's
military installations because of their contributions to national defense and the state’s economy.
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As
a senior member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, I am frequently confronted with the reality of threats to our
national security, as well as the importance of maintaining our nation's readiness. Effectively responding to new and emerging
threats requires a strong national defense, especially in light of the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001.
Thousands
of Pennsylvanians, including members of the Pennsylvania National Guard, are currently serving on active duty in Iraq, and
in other dangerous deployments around the world. With so many brave men and women willing to place themselves in harm's way
in order to protect America, I have worked to ensure that the Congress provides our troops with the tools necessary to complete
their missions and in as safe a manner as possible. Most recently, I supported the P.L. 110-28, the U.S. Troop Readiness,
Veterans’ Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act of 2007, which provided $99.4 billion for
the Department of Defense including $1 billion for Army National Guard equipment shortfalls and $3.2 billion for Mine Resistant
Ambush Protected (MRAP), vehicles, which have proven very effective against the Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) often
used by insurgents in Iraq. In the 109th Congress I was a Conferee to P.L. 109-289, the Department of Defense Appropriations
Act for Fiscal Year 2007, which provided $436.6 billion for national defense. This bill contains a number of key provisions
that I support for service members, including an across-the-board pay raise of 2.2 percent and additional benefits for the
families of those service members who are killed or seriously wounded in service to our nation. Additionally, I supported
$1.1 billion for body armor and personal protection equipment, $1.9 billion to help counter the threat posed to our troops
by IEDs, and funds to provide and improve critical force protection requirements such as up-armored humvees.
In recent
months, it has become clear that the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs have been failing to provide
some of our troops and veterans with the care and benefits they deserve. Following revelations of substandard housing and
treatment for some wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, I visited the facility to investigate the problem
first hand. On April 12, 2007, I participated in a rare joint hearing held by the Senate Committees on Armed Services and
Veterans Affairs to further examine failings in the system. As a result of this hearing, the committees worked together to
write the Dignified Treatment of Wounded Warriors Act, which lays out a comprehensive plan for addressing the identified shortfalls.
I am a cosponsor of this bill and will work to ensure this legislation is enacted as quickly as possible.
I am also
closely monitoring the changes to Pennsylvania's military installations, which are the result of the 2005 Base Realignment
and Closure (BRAC) process. Pennsylvania's installations have a long and proud history of contributing to our national defense
and play an important role in the state's economy. I have consistently resisted efforts which would downsize or close these
vital facilities. I will continue to provide proper Congressional oversight to ensure that the voices of local communities
are heard by the Department of Defense as the changes mandated by the 2005 BRAC are set in motion.
