Washington (AFP) – US President Donald Trump vetoed a broad defense funding bill sent to him by Congress Wednesday, complaining that it helps Russia and China and objecting to provisions to rename military bases. The bipartisan bill was passed by high enough margins in both chambers of Congress for lawmakers to — in theory — override the president’s rejection. The veto of the $740 billion measure to fund the military for fiscal 2021 came a day after the US leader, with less than one month left in office, threw a separate $900 billion Covid-19 relief bill and overall funding for the governmen…
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Combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), a Purple Heart recipient and member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement in response to President Trump’s veto of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which passed the House and Senate with overwhelmingly bipartisan support:
“By passing a NDAA that included a well-deserved pay raise for our troops, Congress sent a clear message that we have our servicemembers’ backs no matter what. By vetoing this overwhelmingly bipartisan legislation in order to honor traitors and protect his ability to easily lie on Twitter, Donald Trump is sending yet another message that he cares more about himself and his political fortunes than he does about our troops or our national security. I will vote to override this ridiculous veto.”
Duckworth secured key provisions in the NDAA that would make sure our female servicemembers are properly equipped for combat, bolster transportation infrastructure and logistics systems, accelerate rotary wing modernization efforts and invest more DoD resources into emerging regions like Southeast Asia. The Senate-passed NDAA also includes a 3% pay raise for our troops.
On Wednesday, Christians United for Israel (CUFI), the nation’s largest pro-Israel organization, issued a statement calling upon Congress to override the President’s veto of the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
”As noted in CUFI’s press release welcoming Congressional passage of the NDAA, which called for the bill to be signed into law, this legislation contains a number of CUFI-backed pro-Israel policies. CUFI’s position on the bill has not changed.
“The NDAA passed the House (335-78) and the Senate (84-13) by overwhelmingly large bipartisan margins. Given how vital this legislation is to the national security interests of the United States and Israel, Congress should press ahead with overriding the President’s veto without delay.”