Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Elise Stefanik voted today in favor of the FY21 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Over the past few months, she has played a leading role with her House colleagues on passing the NDAA to give our military and service members the resources they need.
“I am proud to be the number one advocate for Fort Drum and the 10th Mountain Division each year during the NDAA process, and this year I successfully secured a number of wins for Fort Drum and my district,” said Congresswoman Stefanik. “This critical piece of legislation will deliver a pay raise for our troops, increase funding for science and technology investments, establish a National Artificial Intelligence Initiative, and names Fort Drum as a preferred missile defense site. Our nation’s men and women in uniform deserve the maximum amount of resources that we can provide in order to help them protect our nation and our national interests. I will continue to be a strong advocate of those whom I represent at Fort Drum and across the country who work to protect our freedoms each day.”
Congresswoman Stefanik, as a member of the House Armed Services Committee, fought for a few key provisions in particular:
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)
- Establishes a pilot program to give participating servicemembers the option of cryopreserving their male gametes and female eggs before deploying to a combat zone
- Authorizes additional funding to community schools who educate DOD children
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)
- Requires the Department of Defense to establish a standard phrase that service members may use to initiate a confidential, mandatory mental health evaluation referral
- Adds permanent coverage for DBT Mammography to TRICARE
- Increases female and minority representation in the Armed Forces
- Ensures that election officials track and confirm the receipt of military and overseas absentee ballots
- Audits the medical conditions of individuals and the association between adverse exposure in unsafe or unhealthy housing units and the health of those individuals
- Authorizes funding for the Women in Military Service for America museum
- Expands eligibility for the Special Operations Force’s Preservation of the Force and Family program
- Establishes a private-public partnership and collaboration to enhance and expand Professional Military Education
Wins for New York State – National Guard and Reserves
- Directs DOD to brief Congress on the feasibility of creating a policy for a flexible drill schedule to allow for up to twelve weeks of parental leave
- Standardizes payment of hazardous duty incentive pay for members of the Guard and Reserve components of the Armed Forces
- Restores funding to the High Energy Laser Advanced Technology Research
- Directs DOD to fun 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
- Increases funding transfer from DOD to the CDC to study PFOS/PFOA contamination in drinking water
- Increases access for National Guard to access Defense Environmental Remediation monies to study PFOS/PFOA
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
- Fully funds the Columbia Class B-21 submarine
Tactical Air and Land Forces
- Maintains detailed oversight of critical aircrafts such as the F/A-18, A-10, and the F-35
