Sen. Lamar Alexander speaks to reporters and editors at the Chattanooga Times Free Press in this file photo.
This image provided by CBS News shows Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., speaking with Bob Schieffer on “Face the Nation” Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013, in Washington. NASHVILLE – U.S. Sens. Bob Corker, Lamar Alexander and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., are blistering President Barack Obama’s veto today of a $612 billion defense authorization bill, with the Republican senators pointing out it included a provision requiring a Pentagon response to the slayings of five U.S. servicemen during a July 16 shooting rampage.
Corker, who is from Chattanooga, said the “challenges our nation faces are vast, and I can think of no higher priority than ensuring our men and women in uniform have the tools necessary to protect and defend U.S. interests at home and abroad.
“Not only does this authorization bill allow us to continue important investments necessary for a strong national defense, including personnel benefits and equipment recapitalization, it puts in place an important process by which commanders on the ground in the U.S. are given the power to determine the best ways to protect those who serve here at home.”
He said he is “extremely disappointed the president is blocking this important, bipartisan legislation.”
“This bill impacts more than 40,000 people at Fort Campbell, the Naval Support Activity Mid-South in Millington and throughout Tennessee,” Alexander said in a statement. “It not only would have increased pay for military personnel but it also would have allowed commanders to arm certain personnel on domestic military bases in response to the tragic shooting in Chattanooga in July that killed five service members.”