South Cuyahoga News

WASHINGTON, D.C.– On Dec. 14, Congressman Max Miller applauded the passage of the fiscal year 2024 (FY24) National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) conferenced product through the House of Representatives. This comprehensive legislation included many of Miller’s priorities that will boost servicemember pay by the highest level in 20 years, cement Ohio’s critical role in American national security, strengthen our national defense, increase oversight, counter Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aggression, and restore the focus of our military on lethality. The bill passed the House by a bipartisan vote of 310 to 118.

“Providing for America’s defense is Congress’s most important constitutional duty,” said Congressman Miller. “While this bill is not perfect, it is the product of true compromise and democracy. I was proud to stand with my colleagues who overwhelmingly supported this legislation that ensures our military is the greatest, most lethal fighting force the world has ever seen.”

“The NDAA is one of the most important bills that Congress passes every year, and this year’s legislation sends a strong message to our allies and our adversaries that the United States will continue to be the dominant power on the global stage,” concluded Congressman Miller.

Congressman Miller’s amendment to Prohibit the Air Force from decommissioning KC-135 Stratotankers in FY24, which will protect the National Guard’s footprint in Ohio, was included in the final text of the bill.

Highlights of the FY24 NDAA include:

• Authorizes $886.3 billion for national defense discretionary programs, an increase of $28 billion over the FY23 enacted level.
• Funds over $2 billion in service chief and combatant commander priorities left unfunded by the Biden Budget.
• Does NOT exceed the Fiscal Responsibility Act’s FY24 defense discretionary spending level, saving taxpayers $37 billion or 5% of current Department of Defense spending levels by cutting inefficient defense programs, obsolete weapons systems and unnecessary Pentagon bureaucracy.
• The FY24 NDAA pushes back against the radical woke ideology being forced on our servicemen and women and restores the focus of our military on lethality.
  • Banning Critical Race Theory (CRT)
    • Prohibits funding for the teaching, training, or promotion of CRT in the military, including at service academies and DoD schools.
  • Gutting DEI
    • Guts the Pentagon’s DEI bureaucracy by putting in place a DEI hiring freeze and cutting and capping the pay of DEI bureaucrats.
    • The DEI pay cap would cut the base pay of current DEI bureaucrats and cap it at $70k.
    • Prohibits the display of any unapproved flags, such as the LGBTQ pride flag, at military installations.
    • Eliminates funding for the DoD’s politically biased Countering Extremism Working Group.
    • Prohibits DoD from contracting with advertising firms like NewsGuard that blacklist conservative news sources.
  • Restoring Meritocracy
    • Requires all military promotions and accessions to be based on individual merit and demonstrated performance.
    • Requires the Army to establish higher minimum fitness standards that are sex-neutral for all combat arms soldiers.
  • Banning Drag Shows
    • Reiterates that no funds may be spent on drag shows, drag queen story hours, or similar events. Stops the Navy from promoting a drag queen as a “Digital Ambassador”.
  • Preventing a Military Green New Deal
    • Does not authorize any climate change programs.
    • Prohibits DoD from issuing costly new greenhouse gas rules on defense contractors.
    • Prevents DoD from deploying electric vehicles at installations until it certifies that doing so will not impact installation readiness and that sufficient charging infrastructure is in place.
  • Protecting Children and Parents Rights
    • Includes a Parents Bill of Rights to ensure parents of children in DoD schools have the right to review curriculum, books, and instructional materials, meet with teachers, and provide consent before schools conduct medical exams or screenings of students.
      Improves training and the capability of military criminal investigative units to prevent and combat child sexual exploitation.
  • Servicemember Pay and Benefits
    • Supports a 5.2% increase in servicemember basic pay, the largest pay raise in over 20 years.
    • Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to pay junior enlisted members a monthly bonus to counteract the effects of Biden’s record-high inflation.
  • Improving Military Recruitment
    • Extends military recruitment bonuses.
    • Cracks down on colleges and universities that deny access to military recruiters.
  • The FY24 NDAA protects current servicemembers and provides a path back to service for the 8,000 servicemembers discharged for failing to take the COVID-19 vaccine.
  • Support to Southwest Border States
    • Fully funds deployment of National Guard troops in support of Border Patrol activities at the southwest border.
    • Requires DoD to use or transfer to southwest border states all border wall materials in its possession.
  • The FY24 NDAA provides unprecedented levels of support for the security of Israel.
    • Weapons Transfers
      • Extends the authority for DoD to transfer weapons systems to Israel under the War Reserves Stockpile Authority-Israel.
      • Extends the authority for DoD to transfer precision-guided munitions to Israel and requires an assessment of Israel’s precision- guided munition needs.
    • Requires the Secretary of Defense to consider deploying U.S. KC-46 refueling tanker aircraft to Israel and consult with Israel on the potential for rotational deployments of U.S. KC-46 aircraft in Israel.
    • Directs the Secretary of Defense to produce a status report on current state of, and delivery schedule for, the sale or transfer of F- 15s and F-35s to Israel.
    • Joint Military Research and Development
      • Authorizes $47.5 million more than requested by the Biden Administration for emerging technology R&D with Israel.
        Improves a DoD program for the co-development of directed energy missile defense technologies with Israel.
      • Provides a two-year extension of the U.S.-Israel Anti-Tunneling Cooperation Program.
      • Requires an assessment of the threat Israel faces from unmanned aerial systems and ways to jointly develop capabilities to mitigate such threats.
  • The FY24 NDAA builds and maintains the overmatch we need to counter CCP aggression.
    • Deterrence
      • Extends the Pacific Deterrence Initiative to enhance U.S. deterrence and defense posture in the Indo-Pacific region.
      • Funds the initiative at $14.7 billion, an increase of $5.6 billion over the budget request. Authorizes over $987 million in INDOPACOM Commander priorities left unfunded in the Biden budget.
      • Provides for the implementation of the AUKUS agreement between the U.S., U.K., and Australia and authorizes the eventual sale of nuclear capable submarines to Australia.
      • Requires the DoD to undertake efforts to expand the deployable capacity of U.S. nuclear forces to counter the CCP’s unprecedented nuclear buildup.
      • Prohibits DoD from contracting with any CCP owned or controlled company operating in the U.S.
      • Requires the DoD to identify and mitigate harmful encroachment near military installations, especially land purchases made by CCP-backed entities.
      • Accelerates the deployment of advanced radars to track high-altitude balloons and other CCP threats to our homeland.
  • The FY24 NDAA increases oversight and demands accountability from the Biden Administration.
    • Creates a Special Inspector General to oversee all U.S. security assistance to Ukraine and to thoroughly investigate any instance of waste, fraud, abuse, corruption, or diversion of weapons.
    • Provides the IG with direct hire authority to rapidly expand the number of auditors reviewing Ukraine security assistance.
    • Requires GAO to assess DoD’s end use monitoring programs and provide recommendations to Congress on ways to strengthen them.
  • Forcing the DoD to Pass an Audit
    • Requires all DoD agencies and components to pass a full audit by the end of 2028. Cuts 1.5 percent of funding for any DoD agency or component that fails to be subject to an audit and returns the money to the Treasury for deficit reduction.

Original source can be found here.