House speaker taps Rep. Wilson for nuclear, defense negotiations

U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson has been named to a committee that will hash out funding differences for the nation’s nuclear and defense undertakings – with the Savannah River Site, Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility and plutonium pit production included.

Wilson, a South Carolina Republican, was appointed to the fiscal year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act conference committee by Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., on Wednesday.

Wilson was one of 18 House Armed Services Committee members to be selected, according to a statement published by Ryan’s office. Wilson is the chairman of the House Armed Services Readiness subcommittee.

“These lawmakers devote so much of their time and energy to working with our military,” Ryan said in a prepared statement, “and I look forward to the final legislation that they produce.”

The NDAA is a set of federal laws that define the nation’s defense-related spending. The House and Senate have their own respective versions, which will be discussed, reconciled and then pushed out as a single item.

The House passed its version of the NDAA in March. The Senate passed its version mid-June.

Wilson, a repeat conferee, said he was “extraordinarily grateful” to serve on the committee.

“As a member of the National Defense Authorization Act conference committee,” Wilson said in a prepared statement, “I will work to ensure our national security, military strength and defense capabilities remain a top priority.”

U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry, a Texas Republican and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said Wilson’s weigh-ins will be “critical” during NDAA negotiations.

Read the article here.

Posted in News