Rep. Rich McCormick admitted on Newsmax that he didn't get everything he wanted to see out of the GOP megabill that was approved in the House Thursday, and that he remains "very concerned about our debt," but he said he's still "super proud' that House Republicans pulled together to get the legislation to President Donald Trump's desk.
"At 9 in the morning, we met with the speaker," the Georgia Republican said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "This bill was dead. That same day, we got it signed or delivered. We thought that this was over. There were probably about 30 people who were going to vote no on the rule, which is unheard of."
That meant it took "so much convincing from Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and party leadership to get the bill through, said McCormick.
"I'm very proud of what the body was able to come up with and a bigger, longer strategic plan into the future," he added. "Not a whole lot of promises, because we don't believe in those anymore, but we do have a plan, and I think this is a really good first step."
Meanwhile, the bill will improve the lives of service members, said McCormick.
"When you have families, when you have your wife and your kids living in dilapidated living spaces, it's not good for morale," he said. "It's not good for reenlistment. We took care of that big waste. We're going to make sure the quality of life is better."
The legislation also funds ways to make the military's ships better so that when they go out to sea, personnel feel ready to serve.
"You have the actual ability to relieve other people who are out there, so your deployments are extended," he said. "These things are all essential to the way we look at the military, the way the military perceives us, supporting them."
McCormick, though, said that he does not think the additional spending on the military "made a big difference" when it came to House members who were concerned about the national deficit.
"Most people understood," he said. "We had to invest more in the military. This is the lowest GDP investment we've done in the military since post-World War II. We're at an all-time low."
China, he added, is technologically ahead of the United States in many ways, which could be "strategically and tactically disadvantageous to us, especially if they go after Taiwan."
Congress understood that investing in the military is important because "if you don't look strong, you will go to war," McCormick said.
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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