U.S. Representative Mike Coffman, R-6th Dist., helped foster the passage of the Fiscal Year 2018 National Defense Authorization Act conference report, a bill that contains significant policy and funding initiatives for the Department of Defense.

Coffman, as Chairman of the House Armed Forces Subcommittee on Military Personnel, says he worked across party lines to ensure that the bill includes key provisions for our troops and their families, all while maintaining military readiness and issues important to the 6th Congressional district.

“As chairman of the Military Personnel Subcommittee my goal is to ensure that we have the best trained, best equipped, and best led military in the world,” he said in a press release. “The FY18 NDAA that we just passed makes tremendous strides in that direction and I look forward to getting this bill through the Senate and onto the President’s desk for his signature.”

Some of the provisions championed by Rep. Coffman that were in the FY2018 NDAA include:

The bill passed the House of Representatives with an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 356-70.

Additionally, Coffman included in the NDAA a provision that will benefit Buckley Air Force Base by providing additional funding for the Department of Defense’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program. The REPI program provides funds to procure additional land around military bases to protect them from encroaching development. These land buffers then become additional open space for outdoor recreation for surrounding communities. This program is critical for the flying mission at Buckley AFB which is the district’s largest employer.

Another provision facilitates the relocation of the Fleet Ballistic Missile program to the Denver area, which will result in about 350 new, high-paying jobs – while saving DoD and tax payers an estimated $60 million per year in recurring cost avoidance.

Coffman is a combat veteran of both Iraq wars and served in the Army and Marines.