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Alaskan Congressman Don Young voted today in favor of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009.

Rep. Young has been working diligently since May 2008 to prevent language that would negatively affect Alaska Native Corporations from being added to the bill. Prior to the House’s original passage this past May, he blocked an amendment that would have given the Office of Management and Budget power to implement contracting size caps for ANC’s participating in the 8(a) program.

Rep. Young led a bipartisan group of Representatives to convince the Chairman of House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Ike Skelton (D-MI), to oppose this amendment. This provision would have proven detrimental to the successful 8(a) program, which serves as an economic driver for Alaska Natives and Alaska small businesses. Rep. Young also worked with Chairman Skelton and Ranking Member Hunter this week to remove a section that would have required Defense agencies to minimize sole source contracts to ANC’s.

Among those also assisting Rep. Young in blocking this provision were:

"I commend my fellow Members for working with me on this issue, and for seeing the importance of not including this provision in the bill," said Rep. Young. "The 8(a) program is a success and working just as Congress intended. Changes that may need to be made to the program should be done through the Small Business Administration, with input from those participating, not from Congress. I appreciate that my fellow Colleagues were able to recognize that and work with me to block the offending section."

Additionally, this bill authorized $600 billion in funding for national defense programs in FY2009, which includes a provision authorizing a pay increase of 3.9 percent for all military personnel before special pay or bonuses. It also includes language blocking provisions sought by the Administration to raise $1.2 billion by increasing fees, premiums, and drug co-payments for participants in the military’s TRICARE health network.

"This bill is very important for our military," said Rep. Young. "Especially in this unfortunate time of war, we need to make sure our military families have the funding, the equipment, and the numbers they need to ensure they stay as safe and as taken care of as possible. I will always fight for a bill that takes care of our military and our veterans."