WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement after President Trump vetoed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year (FY) 2021. The annual legislation authorizes national defense objectives for the fiscal year and has historically been a successful bipartisan effort. The defense bill for FY2021 contained numerous priorities secured or supported by Shaheen that invest in New Hampshire’s role in support of our national defense and shore up the United States’ national security structures and programming.

“The president just denied our troops a well-deserved pay raise and deprived New England’s Portsmouth Naval Shipyard of significant federal investments. He also blocked important national security provisions to counter aggression from our adversaries like Russia and China and sabotaged other critical bipartisan measures that would safeguard our defense structures. All of this because he has a gripe with social media companies for holding him responsible for spreading disinformation on his social media platforms. This isn’t just shameful it is downright dangerous,” said Shaheen. “The Kremlin is actively attacking our cyber networks. Instead of standing up for our national security, the President is downplaying Russia’s involvement – which contradicts U.S. intelligence – and now he just vetoed legislation that contains actionable items that we can use to hold Putin accountable for this kind of belligerent behavior. The FY21 NDAA cleared Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support and a veto-proof majority in both chambers. I urge lawmakers in the House and Senate to stand firm in their decisions and override the President’s veto. This isn’t about politics, this is about the security of the United States and the safety of our men and women in uniform. We cannot allow that to be compromised by the President’s thin skin. Enough is enough.”

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