Washington, DC – Today the U.S. House of Representatives, with a large bipartisan vote, passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (H.R. 1585).  This important legislation authorizes $503.8 billion for the Department of Defense and the national security programs of the Department of Energy. The bill also authorizes $141.8 billion to support ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan during fiscal year 2008.

“During a time of war, our troops deserve a great, bipartisan defense bill,” said Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee Chairman Vic Snyder. “This is a great, bipartisan defense bill.”

Several provisions with emphasis on military readiness and improving the lives of our troops and their families were included in the legislation. The bill contained a 3.5 percent pay increase for active duty personnel aimed at narrowing the gap between military and civilian wages.  This 3.5 percent increase was a half-percentage point above the Bush Administration's request.  The bill also prohibits fee increases in TRICARE and the TRICARE pharmacy program for service members and retirees.  Additionally, the bill included provisions of the Wounded Warrior Assistance Act, which Congressman Snyder helped develop earlier this year. The Wounded Warrior Assistance Act was designed to improve support services for all wounded troops and their families in light of problems such as those recently identified at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

The Defense Authorization Act also authorizes funding for several military projects in Arkansas:

Little Rock Air Force Base - $9.8 million for a multipurpose education facility. The education center will replace the current education facilities that are small and outdated and hard for civilians to access. The new center would allow the airmen and women, as well as civilians in the area, access to a substantially greater selection of academic courses.

University of Arkansas at Little Rock - $2 million for activated nanostructures for de-icing. The UALR Nanotechnology Center is working to develop a new approach for safely de-icing aircraft using activated nanostructures.

Space Photonics, Inc. of Fayetteville - $5 million for an intelligent free space optical satellite communications node, including high-speed multi-channel fiber optic and free space laser communications transceivers, and space communications networks.

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences - $5 million for a combined radiation injury consortium to develop countermeasures against combined injury as a result of radiation exposure.

CoorsTek in Benton - $6 million for increased manufacturing capacity for non-hot pressed encapsulated armor ceramics to enable improved body armor for U.S. troops, expand industry capacity to produce vehicle armor in larger and more complex shapes, and to develop more affordable protection for helicopters and other tactical vehicles.

Additionally, the bill authorizes an increase to the President’s request in the size of the military by 36,000 Army troops, 9,000 Marines, 9,698 Navy, and 963 Air Force, which will help meet commitments, reduce strain, and bolster readiness.

A detailed summary of the Defense Authorization act, as approved by the House, can be found at http://armedservices.house.gov/