Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Elise Stefanik today voted in favor of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021. Congresswoman Stefanik has been selected as a Conferee each year since her first term in Congress to negotiate the legislation with the Senate. Over the last several months, she has worked to ensure that the NDAA is a bipartisan bill that provides our military with the support and resources they need.
“As the chief advocate for Fort Drum and the 10th Mountain Division, and as a member of this year’s NDAA conference committee, I am proud to successfully deliver crucial results for our men and women in uniform in this year’s NDAA,” said Congresswoman Stefanik. “I have worked diligently with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, both in the House and Senate, to successfully craft this critical piece of legislation into a bipartisan bill that will address the needs of our military, maintain and strengthen our military readiness, and secure many wins for Fort Drum. Our men and women in uniform deserve the maximum amount of resources the federal government can provide in appreciation for the sacrifices they make to protect our nation’s interests. I commend the House for coming together to pass this essential piece of legislation, and I will continue to be an outspoken advocate for our troops and military families.”
To watch Congresswoman Stefanik speak on the House floor today in support of the NDAA, click here.
The FY21 NDAA included the following provisions for Fort Drum and the North Country:
East Coast Missile Defense Location Specifically Designated at Fort Drum
- Establishes and names Fort Drum as the preferred site for a land-based missile defense underlayer
Wins for Fort Drum and North Country Military Community
- 3% pay raise for our troops
- Directs DOD study on cyber infrastructure for Mission Training Complex
- Directs DOD study on infrastructure improvements to Childcare Development Centers
- Directs DOD to conduct a study and inventory of firefighting operations, management, and equipment
- Allows civilian DoD emergency and protection workers stationed on a military base access to the commissary and exchanges
- Directs USD for Acquisition and Sustainment to provide a briefing to the House Committee on Armed Services by February 1, 2021, as to military installations where biomass will be considered during analysis of alternatives for achieving additional installation energy resiliency (Fort Drum is the only military installation that is 100% energy-resilient with the long term biomass Re-Energy contract)
Servicemembers and Military Families
- Requires Transition Assistance Programs (TAP) to educate servicemembers of sexual assault and sexual harassment, on care provided by the Veteran’s Administration (VA)
- Adds Parkinsonism, bladder cancer, and hypothyroidism to the list of diseases associated with exposure Agent Orange
- Directs a pilot program for the temporary issuance of maternity uniforms to pregnant servicemembers, at no cost
- Requires a strategy for increasing diversity in the military as part of the National Defense Strategy
- Ensures that election officials track and confirm the receipt of military and overseas absentee ballots
- Requires reporting on the oversight of known environmental hazards in government-owned family housing, including overseas housing.
- Repeals the provision allowing the Department of Defense to place families in substandard housing.
Wins for New York State – National Guard and Reserves
- Provides transitional health benefits for certain members of the National Guard serving under orders in response to COVID-19
- Requires a report on lapses in TRICARE coverage for members of the National Guard
- Restores funding to the High Energy Laser Advanced Technology Research
- Directs DOD to fund the Military Munitions Response program to clean unexploded ordinance on military installations around the stat
Testing for Harmful Water Contamination and Providing for Clean-Up
- Provides significant funding for the remediation of harmful chemicals like PFAS
- Requires notification to agricultural operations located in areas exposed to DOD PFAS use
- Allows for awarding of cash prizes for the development of non-PFAS-containing fire-fighting agents
Intelligence, Emerging Threats, and Capabilities
- Authorizes over $100 billion for Research Development Test and Evaluation
- Invests and strengthens America’s position in emerging technologies like cyber, AI, biotechnology, autonomous systems, and others
- Establishes a National Artificial Intelligence Initiative
- Authorizes a number of recommendations from the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence that Congresswoman Stefanik ushered through in the FY19 NDAA
Strategic Forces
- Funds critical modernization of our nuclear forces
- Begins work on the W93 warhead to support STRATCOM requirements for the sea-based leg of our nuclear triad
Seapower and Projection Forces
- Provides $2.55 billion for an additional Virginia-class attack submarine
- Authorizes $1.42 billion for additional P-8A Poseidon aircraft to counter advanced undersea threats from our adversaries
Tactical Air and Land Forces
- Maintains detailed oversight of critical aircrafts such as the F/A-18, A-10, and the F-35
