RELEASE: Auchincloss ‘No’ On NDAA
“Congress can’t ask Ukraine to do more with less while the Pentagon does less with more.”
WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today, Congressman Jake Auchincloss (D, MA-04) will vote against the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Congressman Auchincloss served in the marines; is a member of the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party; and is a member of the Defense Spending Reduction Caucus. Auchincloss discussed his decision this morning on MSNBC. A statement from the congressman can be found below:
“I always approach the NDAA with an open mind, guided by my district’s values and drawing on my business experience and service as a Marine officer. I was willing to change my past opposition and support a measure that increased Pentagon spending if those additional funds were directed to Ukraine. This NDAA does the opposite.
“The Pentagon, like every bureaucracy, can do ten percent more with ten percent less. Not only does this NDAA encourage the Pentagon to spend more, instead of forcing it to spend smarter, it also misses the mark on America’s most urgent national security imperative: providing Ukraine the materiel necessary to defeat Russia. Support for Ukraine has the highest ROI of any national-security funding of the 21st century. Congress can’t ask Ukraine to do more with less while the Pentagon does less with more.
“Republicans should use this NDAA to stand up to autocrats: in Russia and in China. By failing to fully fund Ukraine, they are not standing up to Vladimir Putin. And by failing to denounce Senator Tommy Tuberville’s dangerous politicization of senior military promotions, they are not standing up to Xi Jinping.
“I am a ‘No’ on the NDAA and will continue to advocate for a military that spends smarter, not bigger, and for a foreign policy that puts defending democracy front and center.”