The U.S. House passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25 NDAA) in the amount of $923 billion.
Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan of Virginia is a member of the House Armed Services Committee, which developed the legislation to focus on improving the life of servicemembers and advancing the United States‘ national security priorities.
“We passed that bill with near unanimous consent to deliver for our Armed Forces and military families, improve our military readiness, and support our global allies and partners,” she said Thursday.
Democrats and Republicans on the committee reached a consensus, according to McClellan, on transformative provisions and robust investments after a year of work.
“We secured a 14.5 percent pay increase for junior enlisted servicemembers and a 4.5 percent pay increase for all other servicemembers. We prioritized investments in health care, contraception, housing, childcare, military spousal support, and civilian workforce benefits. We increased funding for PFAS remediation and increased eligibility for the basic needs allowance to ensure military families have the resources they need. The NDAA also incorporated my Improving TAP for Guard and Reserve Servicemembers Act, legislation to provide the Reserve Components of our Armed Forces with tailored guidance and technical assistance to support their transition back to civilian life,” McClellan said.
However, she expressed dislike for Speaker Mike Johnson using the legislation “as a vehicle to advance his conference’s extreme priorities. The original House-passed version contained MAGA culture war amendments that dismantle all DEI initiatives within the Armed Forces; limit servicemembers and their families’ access to reproductive health care; ban TRICARE coverage for gender-affirming care; restore Confederate memorials; abandon Ukraine and our NATO allies; and more. I vehemently and unequivocally opposed these provisions and Republicans’ use of must-pass legislation to advance their policy wish list, and therefore voted against the House version.”
Nearly all “poison pill amendments” in the final version of the NDAA were removed during negotiations, but a Republican provision that bans TRICARE coverage for gender-affirming care of minors that could result in sterilizations was left in the legislation.
“While I adamantly oppose this provision, I voted for the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 because of its transformative provisions to improve the quality of life of our servicemembers and military families in Virginia and across the nation,” McClellan said.
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Rebecca Barnabi
