Groups to Congress: Don’t Use Military to Subsidize Pet Energy Projects

AEA & CVA Send Letter Supporting Rep. Fleming’s Amendment to NDAA

WASHINGTON — Today the American Energy Alliance and Concerned Veterans for America sent a letter to Congress in support of Rep. John Fleming’s proposed amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2017. To protect our national interest and ensure the military remains as effective and efficient as possible, Congress should reject the Obama Administration’s attempt to promote its green energy agenda on the backs of our armed forces. Below is an excerpt from the letter:

We join together in voicing our strong support for Congressman John Fleming’s proposed amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2017 (NDAA). Our military should be focused on protecting our national security, not subsidizing pet energy projects.

Congressman Fleming’s amendment prohibits funds from being used to carry out parts of Executive Orders 13653 and 13693. These executive orders direct agencies to implement a host of policies under the guise of preventing climate change. For the Department of Defense (DoD), this means increased costs, further complication of the acquisition process, and additional burdens in logistics, planning, and execution of critical missions. Ultimately, these executive orders detract from the DoD’s ability to protect our country by introducing even more unnecessary bureaucracy to the Pentagon.

By restricting funds from being used to carry out these executive orders, Congressman Fleming’s amendment accomplishes several goals. It allows DoD to continue to protect Americans by using the most efficient and capable means necessary. This means allowing our military to use the most reliable and cost effective energy resources—a priority for the world’s largest single energy consumer.

The NDAA should authorize taxpayer dollars to be spent on defense activities in the interest of promoting national security. Implementing these executive orders requires additional funds, whether it is for acquiring more expensive fuel sources, such as biofuels or solar panels, or committing more resources to the already bloated Pentagon bureaucracy to oversee the implementation of these executive orders. Forcing the DoD to rely on more expensive energy sources for no actual tactical or strategic advantage is unnecessary, especially given the abundance of domestic energy supplies. The funds authorized in the NDAA should be spent in areas directly related to DoD’s mission – not to implement President Obama’s green energy agenda.

Click here to read the full coalition letter.

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