Tuesday, the House passed the FY18 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

This bill provides the necessary funding of nearly $700 billion, a $26 billion increase above the president’s budget request, while implementing major reforms to the Department of Defense (DoD) to save taxpayer dollars, including a measure to improve the way the Pentagon does business. This will allow our military commanders to rebuild our dated equipment and facilities and ensure our military is ready to fight new and existing threats for the years to come. This bill also provides the largest pay increase to our troops and critical benefits to military spouses.

U.S. Representative Richard Hudson (NC-08), Fort Bragg’s Congressman and an outspoken advocate for North Carolina’s military community, released the following statement:
 
“I have three words: it’s about time,” said Rep. Hudson. “Over the years, our military has faced a serious readiness shortfall because of Washington’s sequester cuts, short-term spending measures, and uncertainty. We’ve seen the deadly consequences of that here at Fort Bragg. This bipartisan bill will help improve readiness and ensure warfighters have the tools and training they need. It also gives our troops the largest pay raise in 8 years. I encourage the Senate to swiftly pass this bill so President Trump can sign it into law.”
 

In addition, the FY18 NDAA includes measures to:

~Provide troops a pay raise of 2.4 percent—the largest in 8 years.

~Permanently preserve Special Survivor Indemnity Allowance (SSIA) payments to more than 60,000 surviving military spouses. 

~Provide resources to help families manage challenges like relocations, permitting the Services to reimburse a service member up to $500 for a  spouse’s  expenses related to obtaining licensing or certification in another state because of a military move.

~Improve the way the Pentagon buys commercial-off-the-shelf goods by allowing the government to use online commercial sites like Amazon,  Staples, or Grainger just as businesses do.

~Make major reforms in Pentagon buying practices including e-commerce, defense contract auditing, and increased oversight of service contracts to spend taxpayer dollars more wisely and get troops cutting-edge technology quickly and efficiently.

~Implement new oversight tools as DoD undergoes its first financial audit.

~Increase funding for military facilities to restore and maintain infrastructure ranging from barracks to hospitals and runways to hangars.

~Make key investments in critical military capabilities to confront aggression and address threats around the world.

~Maintain longstanding provisions to prohibit transferring Guantanamo Bay detainees to American soil and prohibit DOD from using any funds to transfer the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay back to Cuba.

 

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