Graves Votes to Give Troops their Biggest Raise this Decade

Press Release

U.S. Representative Sam Graves issued the following statement after today helping pass the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018. H.R. 2810, which gives our troops their largest pay raise in eight years, also boosts defense spending by 10 percent over last year's level. It passed the House with a bipartisan vote of 344-81.

"Our military men and women -- and their families -- make such enormous sacrifices to defend this country, but they can't do it on their own," said Rep. Graves, a member of the House Committee on Armed Services. "That's why securing our national defense is the primary responsibility of the federal government -- and it's always been my top priority in Congress. I'm happy to have helped pass a bill today that strengthens our military while ensuring our troops get the treatment and pay they deserve."

In addition to the troop pay raise, H.R. 2810 aims to ensure our military men and women have the tools they need to complete missions safely and efficiently. It bill complies with the Army, Navy, and Air Force's requests for thousands of additional personnel, and increases missile defense funding by $2.5 billion. Finally, this year's National Defense bill included Rep. Graves' request to secure modernization of the Air National Guard's C-130H fleet, specifically the T56 3.5 engine modifications and the NP2000 eight-bladed propeller systems.

"The C-130H is such an important aircraft to our military, and serves as a force multiplier to active duty, reserve and guard units across the world," Rep. Graves concluded. "It is often on the front lines of combat, protecting the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans, and it also serves vital global humanitarian purposes."

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