National Defense Authorization Act passes committee to House floor with McClellan amendments

The Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement Act and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 were voted out of the House Armed Services Committee to the House Floor for consideration yesterday.

Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan, who represents Virginia’s District 4, sponsored seven amendments in the legislation, and voted in favor.

“After more than 12 hours of markup in committee, I voted to advance the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 to the House Floor for full consideration,” McClellan said. “This year’s NDAA supports our national security priorities, ensures the United States can maintain our commitments to our allies and partners around the world, and invests in crucial research and technology development initiatives. It also places a high priority on improving the quality of life of our servicemembers and their families. In this moment of increasing international conflict, we must ensure our Armed Forces have the resources and support they need.”

The annual NDAA authorizes funding for the Department of Defense (DoD) and all Armed Forces operations for the upcoming fiscal year. McClellan offered seven amendments, two of which were based on legislation she previously introduced: the Department of Defense PFAS Discharge Prevention Act and the Improving TAP for Guard and Reserve Servicemembers Act. All seven were included in the final version of the bill that advanced out of committee:

1. Transition Assistance Program (TAP) for Guard and Reserve Servicemembers: Creates a dedicated pathway within the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) to provide specialized information assistance to meet the unique needs of Guard and Reserve servicemembers and clarify which VA health and retirement benefits are available to Reserve Components of the Armed Forces.

2. DoD PFAS Discharge Prevention: Requires the Secretary of Defense to apply for new permits that would allow for the use of PFAS remediation technology on DoD bases, including carbon filtration at DoD stormwater management outflows. The amendment also mandates DoD use a small portion of remediation funding for PFAS testing onsite to better capture PFAS before it flows into waterways.

3. Directive Report Language on PFAS: Directs the DoD to brief the House Armed Services Committee on its plans to comply with the Biden-Harris Administration’s recently announced Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for PFAS in drinking water.

4. DoD Briefing on Education Support Professional Workforce Development and Internal Hiring: Directs the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) to brief the House Armed Services Committee on internal processes to empower Education Support Professionals (ESP) to teaching positions and barriers that might impede that transition.

5. DoD Briefing on Army Training Information Systems: Directs DoD to provide a briefing on the implementation process of the Army Training Information System (ATIS), which acquires, deploys, and maintains a worldwide distributed learning system to ensure American soldiers receive critical training.

6. Compound Flood Risk Assessment: Amends DoD flood mapping procedure to include an evaluation of compound flood risks that jeopardize DoD facilities and may not be captured by existing procedures.

7. DoD Briefing on Costs Imposed by Weather-Related Natural Disasters: Directs the DoD to brief the House Armed Services Committee on the costs incurred from extreme weather-related natural disasters on DoD facilities.

“On the House Armed Services Committee, I am focused on improving the quality of life of our servicemembers and their families,” McClellan said. “I am thrilled that all seven of my amendments were included in the committee’s final version of the bill. These provisions will help address key issues impacting our military personnel and Defense installations around the world. I look forward to continue advocating for these provisions on the House floor.”

McClellan also secured the following two provisions through the NDAA submission process to improve child care access for servicemembers:

1. Child Care Development Center Employee Background Checks: Directs the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to provide a briefing to the House Armed Services Committee to improve and streamline the background check process and improve retention of Child Development Center employees.

2. Assessment of the “Come Grow With Us” Recruitment Effort: Directs the Secretary of Defense to provide a briefing to the House Armed Services Committee on the success of the “Come Grow With Us” campaign, which aims to increase the recruitment, hiring, and retention of military childcare providers.

During the NDAA markup, McClellan fought back against Republicans’ attempts to strip DEI initiatives from the Armed Forces. Watch McClellan’s debate clips here.

Read the bill text of H.R. 8070 here and the text of McClellan’s amendments here.