Suffolk Reporter

WASHINGTON, D.C. - On June 22, 2023, June 22nd, 2023, Rep. Nick LaLota (NY-01), a Navy Veteran and member of the House Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement after the Armed Services Committee passed the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which included a number of LaLota’s policy priorities.  

“I am proud to have worked with my colleagues to advance the bipartisan 2023 NDAA which ensures our men and women in uniform have the policies and resources necessary to keep America safe. As Department of Defense leaders strategize on important missions like deterring conflict with China and defending our cyber borders, this NDAA fulfills Congress’ commitment to our men and women in uniform ensuring they remain the most lethal fighting force the world has ever known,” said LaLota. “In this bill are several of my priorities, including the single largest pay raise for our soldiers in decades, critical legal protections for servicemembers overseas, rejecting efforts to reduce the size of the Navy, cutting down on fraud and waste, supporting military families, and enhancing our military industrial base.” 

Background:

The House Armed Services Committee plays an instrumental role in ensuring our military has the policies and resources necessary to defend America.  The culmination of the committee’s work is passing the NDAA– the annual bill that provides funding and policy updates to the Department of Defense. The NDAA is an annual and historically bipartisan bill that authorizes funding levels and provides authorities for the U.S. military and other critical defense priorities, ensuring our troops have the training, equipment, and resources they need to carry out their missions.

In this year’s NDAA are several of LaLota’s priorities:

• Ensuring legal protections for servicemembers stationed overseas to ensure they have the right to counsel, competent translation services, a prompt trial, and other protections our servicemembers have earned and deserve
• A 5.2% across-the-board pay raise for servicemembers, the largest single pay increase in over twenty years
• Fully funds military exercises with our allies and partners in the Pacific to counter China’s growing reach.
• A report on current nursing staffing levels within the Department of Defense (DoD) to ensure proper staffing levels so our servicemembers have access to available benefits
• Preventing fraudulent payments in the Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) program
• Over $400 million to support military housing
• Cuts $39 billion in inefficient, obsolete, and unnecessary programs and weapons systems
• Mitigate the ability of foreign businesses to buy land near American military bases
• Establish a program to give DoD employees the knowledge, training, and awareness to help mitigate accidental drug overdoses or drug use, specifically related to fentanyl, xylazine, and other illicit drugs
• Review of the Department of Defense on if they are contracting with companies that violate the U.S. Export Control Act, specifically with regard to conducting business with China and Russia
• Over $450 million for childcare and education for military children
• Require DoD financial advisors to act in the best interest of the servicemember’s widows to ensure no family is taken advantage of
• Encourage DoD to utilize rare earth minerals mined in the U.S. over foreign minerals
• Conduct oversight and audits of security assistance to Ukraine to cut down on waste, fraud, and abuse
• Promoting the collaboration of the DoD and the National September 11 Memorial & Museum to educate visitors on the military's response to 9/11 and encourage visitors of the opportunities they have to serve
• Requiring information from DoD on the roll-out plan and timeline for Next Generation 9-1-1 implementation to ensure our servicemembers and their families are safe

Original source can be found here.