During the House consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016, McSally, along with John McCain, fought to increase military spending, particularly on the Tomahawk missile and other programs of Raytheon Co., one of the largest employers in Arizona.
(meta data) TITLE: McSally wins 'knife fight' over defense spending (meta data) AUTHOR: https://www.facebook.com/rebekahlsanders SUBSCRIBE NOWto get home delivery Get the news # McSally wins 'knife fight' over defense spending Rebekah L. Sanders, The Republic | azcentral.com Published 12:02 a.m. ET June 3, 2016 U.S. Rep. Martha McSally says helping to defeat an amendment that could have slowed Raytheon's work on a missile system was one of her "most satisfying moments on the floor of the House. "(Photo: Nick Oza/The Republic) TUCSON -- Challenging a member of her own party over the national defense-spending bill was like going into a "knife fight," U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., told Tucson Raytheon Co. employees on Thursday. But a passionate floor speech, which drew on her military experience, and personal appeals to colleagues as they voted helped produce the results she sought, McSally said. She helped defeat an amendment that could have slowed Raytheon's work on a missile system, hampered the military and cost taxpayers by favoring a U.S. supplier that had performed poorly in the past, she said at a town-hall meeting held at the company's facility. "We had some people switch their votes. ... And in the end it was the 'yeses' 211. The 'nos' 213," she recalled, as Raytheon employees applauded. "It was one of my most satisfying moments on the floor of the House." Hundreds of jobs could be added at the company if the National Defense Authorization Act receives approval from the Senate and President Barack Obama, according to an official with the company, one of Arizona's largest employers. The episode was one among a number of victories McSally, a former Air Force pilot, has notched in her first term. In the military spending bill, she and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., fought to preserve and increase spending for a variety of defense programs. "We're very thankful to Sen. McCain on the Senate Armed Services Committee and Congresswoman McSally on the House Armed Services Committee for leading the charge to restore funding to programs like Tomahawk" missiles and other weapons, Raytheon's missile systems president Taylor Lawrence said. "We hit the dip of sequestration, and we're coming out of it," Lawrence said, referring to the across-the-board cuts that occurred in 2013 after Congress failed to agree on a targeted deficit-reduction plan. "As long as sequestration doesn't return, we expect to grow." But approval of the defense spending isn't certain. The White House has issued a veto threat, accusing Republicans of budget gimmicks that divert wartime funds into routine spending. Last year, Obama vetoed the first NDAA bill that came to his desk. McSally said the $18 billion taken from wartime funds is necessary to "stop the bleeding" in the regular military budget. "We're going to hold that line pretty strongly," she said. "And then we're just going to have to deal with (Obama) — whether he's really willing to put our military and the warfighter at risk over this issue or whether he's going to support what his co-equal branch of government came up with ... and sign that bill into law." McSally said she has requested to join the small conference committee that will hash out differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill — a high-profile role — but she has not received confirmation yet. Read or Share this story: http://azc.cc/1X1T6t3Share your feedback to help improve our site experience!
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Martha McSally
Political positions.:Foreign and defense policy.
"Politico" described her as "hawkish" in 2016. She criticized the international nuclear agreement with Iran and has praised defense contractors.