Amo Statement on National Defense Authorization Act
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Gabe Amo (RI-01) released the following statement on the National Defense Authorization Act:
“The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is one of the most important annual bills that Congress works on — with a 60-plus year tradition of bipartisan passage given its importance to our servicemembers and national defense,” said Congressman Gabe Amo. “In this year's version, I was encouraged to see consensus provisions that will benefit Rhode Islanders and those serving our nation —a 14.5% pay raise for junior enlisted servicemembers, a 4.5% raise for all others who serve, authorization for a second Virginia-class submarine, a Special Envoy to Sudan, and a greater focus on our regional security agreements. Unfortunately, Speaker Mike Johnson decided to detonate a bipartisan bill by inserting an extreme, partisan culture war provision at the 11th hour that I cannot support.
“It is unconscionable that Republicans allowed the hijacking of a bill intended to keep our country safe,” continued Congressman Amo. “It will negatively impact the families of our servicemembers. This is dangerous for our national security, which is why I agree with both House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) and Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) that these provisions have no place in this bill. I voted no because we should have a real bipartisan process that supports our troops and their families, strengthens our national security, and does not target any community. We have to do better.”
The White House is touting cellphone footage showing the perspective of the ICE agent involved in a shooting in Minneapolis. In a post, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says the video is evidence that, "The media smeared an ICE Agent who properly defended himself from being run over by organized leftist protesters." The video was originally posted by "Alpha News," and it appears to show Renee Good behind the wheel, and her wife outside the SUV, getting into a verbal confrontation with ICE agents. 
