Defense

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers gave the following statement on the Pay our Guard and Reserve Act, which passed on a vote of 265-160, on the House floor today:

"Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the brave men and women of our military, who stand at the ready to defend this homeland.

"This legislation will provide the men and women of the National Guard and Reserve with due compensation for their service – on time and in full – throughout the government shutdown.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 2397, the Fiscal Year 2014 Department of Defense Appropriations Bill.

This bill provides more than $512 billion in base funding for our national security and military efforts, and $85.8 billion in "Overseas Contingency Operations" war funding. This is a base funding decrease of $5.1 billion below the fiscal year 2013 enacted level, but is approximately $28.1 billion above the current level caused by automatic sequestration spending cuts.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield myself 5 minutes to discuss the fiscal year 2014 Defense Appropriations bill.

The bill includes base funding of $512.5 billion for the Department of Defense, which is $3.4 billion below the CBO estimate of the President's request, and approximately $28.1 billion above the estimated fiscal year 2013 sequestration level. For Overseas Contingency Operations, the bill includes $85.8 billion, which is $1.5 billion below last year's level.