Conaway Adds Amendment to Award Purple Hearts to Victims of 2009 Fort Hood Shootings

Congressman K. Michael Conaway (R-Texas) issued the following statement on House passage of the conference report for the Defense Authorization Bill:

“I am pleased that the Fiscal Year 2015 Defense Authorization Bill that the House passed yesterday includes several important provisions that I worked on.

“One provision would require the Department of Defense to award Purple Hearts to soldiers killed in the 2009 Fort Hood shootings. I offered this amendment on behalf of Congressman John Carter (R-TX31) and Congressman Roger Williams (R-TX25), who are not on the House Armed Services Committee.  As we know too well, the battlefield in the War on Terror is not limited to foreign lands. Men and women who defend America against terrorism on American soil, should be eligible to receive the Purple Heart and other medals that recognize their heroism and sacrifice.

“It also includes two provisions I authored that would prohibit large-scale purchases of biofuels unless they are cost competitive with traditional fuels, and require the department to submit a case analysis to Congress before constructing a biofuel refinery.  These provisions are necessary at a time when our military is already facing enormous budget constraints. It is not the job of the Department of Defense to spend millions of taxpayer dollars to develop the biofuel industry when these monies could go toward service member training and readiness.

“While I am happy this bill passed the House, the Senate now needs to pass it and the President needs to sign it.  Furthermore, we need the President’s leadership in rolling back the across the board cuts that are damaging our military and threatening our national security.”