Congressman Bob Gibbs released the following statement following passage by a super-majority of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (NDAA), legislation that authorizes funding for our military:
"Today, I am proud to support a bill that includes a pay increase for our troops, prevents the Obama Administration from drastically increasing military's healthcare fees, and saves the Mansfield's Air National Guard 179th Airlift Wing.
"The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 provides our troops and their families the care and support they need, deserve, and have earned. It rejects the President's proposal to increase TRICARE fees while authorizing a 1.7% pay increase for our men and women in uniform.
"Forcing the American taxpayers to foot the bill for planes that just rolled off the assembly line only to be sent to the junkyard is unthinkable. That is why I am glad this legislation halts the Air Force's short-sighted and disproportionate cuts to Ohio's Air National Guard. In addition to affecting roughly 800 jobs in Mansfield, eliminating the C-27J program would have impacted domestic relief efforts due to their unmatched ability to be first responders in times of crisis."