Lake County Gazette

U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-IL) recently supported House passage (270 – 156) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016, which grants the Department of Defense with needed funds and resources. 

The bill authorizes the Department of Defense to address armed forces' various needs both professionally (authorizing the right to carry firearms at DOD installations and increasing funding for armed forces fighting ISIL) and personally (improving retirement assistance and making childcare more accessible to military families).

“One of Congress’s constitutional responsibilities is to ‘provide for the common defense,’ and this bipartisan, bicameral legislation is our primary method to fulfill that responsibility,” Hultgren said. “As the world grows more dangerous and uncertain, this legislation ensures our nation’s armed forces are agile, efficient, and ready. It provides care for our service men and women and their families through retirement plan access, housing assistance, and improved childcare access.

Hultgren also spelled out how the bill deals with certain restrictions on Guantanamo Bay prisoners. 

"I saw firsthand on a recent in-depth congressional delegation tour of the Guantanamo Bay prison that it is an important solution to housing the world’s most hardened terrorists," Hultgren said. "This bill prohibits the transfer of detainees from Guantanamo Bay to the United States and limits transfers to foreign countries. I am glad both sides of the aisle and Capitol worked together to defend our nation well, and I look forward to the President’s signature.”