U.S. Rep. Reid Ribble (R-WI) voted with a House majority last week to approve the Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2016, which was passed by a vote of 278-149.
After the vote, Ribble released a statement expressing his support for the measure.
“Our first constitutional duty is to provide for the common defense, and today’s vote was a crucial step in that process,” Ribble said. “With this year’s Department of Defense Appropriations Act, we have funded the construction of three new Littoral Combat Ships, tools that our Navy has repeatedly called crucial to their mission.”
The Department of Defense Appropriations Act provides funding for many critical military-readiness programs that prepare American troops for combat, as well as peacetime missions. The measure establishes a structure that will assist in streamlining the Pentagon’s budget. In addition to funding programs that prioritize suicide prevention, traumatic brain injury and sexual assault, the bill heavily funds military equipment and supports combat troops.
“Some of the new (funded) LCS ships will be built in our very own Marinette facilities, and I can think of no finer work force to build the ships that will protect our nation than the men and women of northeastern Wisconsin,” Ribble said.