Washington, D.C. – In July, Rep. Todd Rokita (IN-04) was appointed to serve as a conferee for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The NDAA Conference Committee is a select panel of members from both chambers that negotiate and reconcile the House and Senate versions of the NDAA.
Rep. Rokita issued the following statement after passage of H.R. 1735, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016:
“I worked hard as a member of this bill’s negotiating team and will continue to fight for programs that benefit the critical role that the state of Indiana plays in ensuring our national security.
“One of the most important functions of government is to provide for the common defense. In an era of unparalleled threats and uncertainty, we need to ensure our forces are agile, efficient, ready, and lethal. This annual defense authorization fulfills Congress’ Constitutional responsibility to the American people and gives us the necessary tools our service men and women need to defend our nation,” said Rep. Rokita.
This is the second negotiating team that Rep. Rokita was appointed to in 2015. Earlier this year, Rep. Rokita was appointed to the Budget Conference Committee tasked with resolving the differences between the Senate and House individual 2016 budget resolutions. The joint-concurrent budget resolution passed the House in April and was the first balanced resolution to pass both chambers in eleven years.
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 is the comprehensive legislation to authorize the budget authority of the Department of Defense and the national security programs of the Department of Energy. Funding levels for this legislation are consistent with the House Budget, constructed by the Budget Committee of which Rep. Rokita serves as the Vice Chairman.
