Press Release

Congressman Henry Cuellar releases statement on the National Defense Authorization Act

Cuellar’s amendment calls for the joint testing and evaluation of UAV’s

Washington, June 14, 2013

Congressman Henry Cuellar, (D-Laredo) released the following statement on an amendment he successfully added to H.R. 1960, the Fiscal Year 2014 National Defense Authorization Act:

“This amendment will bring together the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Aviation Administration to jointly develop a plan of training and testing. I am very pleased to see my amendment was included in the final passage of the bill with the support of my colleagues from both sides of the aisle,” said Congressman Cuellar. “This amendment will go a long way towards making sure we utilize all available equipment, eliminate needless duplication of resources, and make sure no taxpayer money goes to waste while strengthening the ability of the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security to use unmanned aerial vehicles to protect us here and abroad.”

Cuellar’s amendment calls for the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Aviation Administration, to develop and implement plans to review the potential of joint testing training and evaluation of equipment and systems.

The National Defense Authorization Act authorizes $544.4 billion in discretionary spending for the base budget for the Department of Defense and Department of Energy national security activities for fiscal year 2014 and $85.8 billion for Overseas Contingency Operations. Included in the bill are provisions to bring the war in Afghanistan to a successful close, a 1.8% pay increase for the troops and their families, among others.