Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the National Defense Authorization Act topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
House Small Business Committee Chair Roger Williams defends NDAA vote and warns linking Save America Act could imperil Senate approval
Summary
Representative Roger Williams defended his vote for the National Defense Authorization Act, said linking it to the Save America Act could jeopardize Senate approval, and expressed hesitation about sending U.S. ground troops to Iran; a clip of Rep. Ralph Norman suggested ground forces could be considered.
Representative Roger Williams, chair of the House Small Business Committee, defended his decision to support this year’s National Defense Authorization Act, saying during a television interview that it is ‘‘hard not to support the military’’ and that passing the bill was the priority.
The host noted the NDAA cleared the House narrowly and said that just six Democrats crossed the aisle to support the package while seven Republicans voted against it. The host also asked whether Speaker Mike Johnson’s plan to attach the separate Save America Act before sending the NDAA to the Senate could doom the bill there. Williams said, ‘‘Well, it it might,’’ adding that the Senate is ‘‘a whole different breed’’ and that lawmakers should seek an up-or-down vote when possible.
The host asked whether the linkage to the Save America Act could leave the NDAA ‘‘dead on arrival’’ in the Senate, noting the House is scheduled to recess July 24–August 31. Williams said timing and logistics would make it difficult to resolve quickly and described the situation as ‘‘an hour by hour thing.’’
On partisan disagreement, Williams told the program he did not know his Republican colleagues’ reasons for opposing the bill and said he was unsure why some members voted no. In the interview he stated, ‘‘If you’re illegal, you should not be able to vote in America,’’ a policy assertion presented here as his view.
The host said Williams had joined most of his party in approving a $95,000,000,000 budget framework and that the package includes more than $70,000,000,000 for the war in Iran; the host also cited a poll saying 57% of Americans thought going to war was the wrong decision. Williams said he believed voters would respond to the party’s broader record on taxes and regulations and said he expected Republicans to ‘‘do fine’’ in the fall.
The program included a short clip of Representative Ralph Norman, R-S.C., saying of possible military action, ‘‘Whether the air will be the only way, we’ll find out,’’ and that the president had been exercising restraint. Williams said he had not heard the president announce a plan to put troops on the ground and voiced reluctance about deploying ground forces, saying the last thing you want to do is send troops into harm’s way and that he would be ‘‘hesitant’’ unless it was necessary to end the conflict.
The interview closed after the host thanked Representative Roger Williams for his time; Williams concluded with ‘‘God bless.’’
Note: numeric figures and poll results quoted above were presented by the program’s host during the interview and were not independently verified in the broadcast transcript.
