Congressman A. Donald McEachin (VA-04) voted for House passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
The bill authorizes $733 billion for the Department of Defense (DOD) and the defense-related activities of the Department of Energy, as well as Overseas Contingency Operations. The Fiscal Year 2020 NDAA also eliminates wasteful spending, reverses the Trump administration’s discriminatory ban on military service by transgender individuals, and solidifies Congress’s oversight role over defense programs.
“As the son of an Army veteran, I understand first-hand the weight of the sacrifices servicemembers make in order to protect and serve our country,” said McEachin. “This defense bill will offer crucial support and protections for our service members and their families. It is also noteworthy that this legislation responds to the climate crisis as a critical threat to national security and reverses the Trump administration’s bigoted ban on transgender service members. This is a strong and inclusive defense bill that will help keep us all safer.”
Some of the key priorities that are contained in the bill include:
- Giving our servicemembers a pay raise of 3.1 percent;
- Numerous provisions to take care of military families, improve military housing, and clean up contaminated drinking water at military bases;
- Prohibiting any funding in the bill from being diverted for the construction of a wall, barrier, or fence along the southern land border;
- Protecting children at the border by prohibiting DOD funds from being used to house unaccompanied children forcibly separated from their parents or legal guardians by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) within 100 miles of the border of the United States;
- Requiring DOD briefings to Congress on Russian election interference, and requiring DOD to issue a strategy for countering Russian election interference in the 2020 elections; and
- Requiring DOD to take a number of steps to both address climate change and fund mitigation activities.
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