Two Nevada congressman will help shape final defense bill
Two Nevada congressman will have seats at the table when House and Senate lawmakers sit down to iron out differences in a defense bill that will impact military personnel and installations in the Silver State.
Rep. Cresent Hardy, R-Nev., and Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., are two of 44 Republicans that House Speaker Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., appointed Friday to the conference committee for the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act legislation.
Hardy, who is representing the House Committee on Natural Resources, said in a news release that he’s “eager to work together so that we can adequately restore our nation’s military readiness while also being good stewards of our God given resources.”
This is the the fourth time Hardy has been chosen for a conference committee during his first term in Congress.
“As the representative of Nevada’s Fourth Congressional District, home to Nellis and Creech Air Force bases and the Hawthorne Army Depot, I’m pleased to again have the opportunity to come to the table with my colleagues from the Natural Resources Committee to produce a strong bill for our men and women in uniform,” he said.
Heck was appointed as a member of the House Armed Services Committee.
The House bill seeks a 2.1 percent pay increase; the Senate wants a 1.6 percent raise that would affect roughly 17,100 combined military personnel at Nellis and Creech, the Nevada National Guard, Naval Air Station Fallon, the Army’s 6th Recruiting Brigade in North Las Vegas and Reserve units in Nevada.
The threat of a veto by President Barack Obama still looms. A veto would put in limbo at least $200 million recommended for funding for national security, defense programs and upgrades at defense installations in Nevada.
Contact Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308. Find him on Twitter: @KeithRogers2
