WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, Congressman Andy Kim (NJ-03) voted to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2023 through the House Armed Services Committee. Congressman Kim worked to secure historic investments in technology and innovation that will help keep jobs in New Jersey, prepare our country for the unprecedented challenges ahead, and honor the sacrifices our servicemembers and their families make through a much needed pay raise.
"The last place partisan politics belongs is in our national security, and I'm proud to be working with colleagues in both parties towards achieving significant wins for our servicemembers, their families, New Jersey, and our economy," said Congressman Kim. "I’m glad to see many of my priorities included in this draft bill including key small business provisions from my Put Our Neighbors to Work Act, increased funding to lower costs and better meet the childcare needs of our military families, an expansion of health benefits for our guard and reservists, and a pay raise for our servicemembers. I look forward to continuing to work on this in a bipartisan way to deliver for servicemembers and our national security."
The bill passed out of committee by a vote of 57-1.
Provisions championed by Congressman Kim include:
Supporting Jobs and Small Businesses In New Jersey
- Provisions from Congressman Kim's Put Our Neighbors to Work Act requiring prime contractors that receive Department of Defense (DoD) military construction contracts to publicly post their subcontracting opportunities so that more local and small businesses have a chance to compete.
- An additional $28 million for the refurbishment and upgrade of the SPY-1 Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) to improve the defense of Naval destroyers, protecting and sustaining dozens of good-paying jobs at the Lockheed Martin Moorestown facility.
- $197.5 million in support for the KC-46A Pegasus program at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JBMDL).
- Support local businesses that reverse engineer defense parts that are no longer produced. This effort reduces sustainment costs and improves readiness, which encourages market competition and supports local engineering, information technology, and machinist jobs.
- A $130 million increase for the Columbia and Virginia-Class submarine programs, which support at least nine small parts manufacturers in NJ-03, including DC Fabricators in Florence, Champion Fasteners in Lumberton, Garvey Precision Machine in Willingboro, and Sea Box in Cinnaminson among others.
- A provision to allow NJ Guard and Air Force at JBMDL to fully transition their KC-135 mission to the new, higher-tech KC-46 tanker.
Caring for Our Servicemembers and Their Families
- A pay raise for all military servicemembers.
- Congressman Kim’s Dental Care for Our Troops Act, which would ensure all National Guard and reservists have access to no-fee dental care like active-duty servicemembers do, even when they are not on active status.
- That is part of Congressman Kim’s larger Healthcare for Our Troops Act to make no-fee healthcare available to the over 800,000 Americans serving our nation in the Reserves and National Guard. The Congressman believes that anyone who wears the uniform and defends our nation should have healthcare.
- Dental issues have been identified by the Reserve Organization of America as a leading medical reason guard and reservists are found unfit to deploy.
- Providing military families with up to $400 more per month through DoD’s Child Care Fee Assistance Program to afford civilian childcare if they are placed on a waitlist for on-base care.
- Access to childcare for military families has been one of the biggest issues that Congressman Kim has heard from leadership at JBMDL.
- An audit of TRICARE’s behavioral health provider network directory to ensure accuracy, improve the referral process, and reduce wait times for access to civilian providers.
- To address concerns that service members, their families, and provider's complaints are not being adequately heard or resolved, and that service members and their families experience delays with getting behavioral health care appointments, requires Secretary of Defense to brief and report to Congress on how they capture and resolve customer complaints, measure access to care standards for behavioral health appointments, track follow on appointments, and how this will be managed in the next Tricare contract.
- Congressman Kim’s Military Protection from Debt Act to limit interest rates on pre-service loans for the families of active servicemembers and ease financial burdens while their servicemember is deployed.
- Interest rates are already capped at six percent for servicemembers during their deployment. This legislation would expand the same protections to military family members.
Investing in America's Defense, Cyber Security, and Meeting Emerging Challenges
- A $26 million increase for DoD’s work to attract a diverse defense and national security workforce, including:
- $5 million in additional funding for DoD educational partnerships with community colleges. Congressman Kim is proud to have helped facilitate such a partnership locally between Ocean County College and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.
- $20 million in additional funding for the SMART Scholarship program, which provides STEM students with full tuition and guaranteed employment with DoD after graduation.
- An effort to help DoD build off of the successful "Black Start" exercise JBMDL undertook in 2020 by focusing energy resilience exercises on fighting through problems and studying how the base will react and adapt to maintain their mission readiness. Also directs DoD to conduct a study of base dependencies on cellular infrastructure, a request coming out of the JBMDL exercise.
- Black Start exercises cut off military bases' access to the electric grid to gauge their readiness in the face of cyberattacks or natural disasters.
Additional Priorities
- Full funding of the Army Reserve’s budget request for Military Construction Planning & Design which could support the planning and design of an overpass over Route 539. The Route 539 overpass project is critical to the safety of drivers in Burlington and Ocean Counties, will help base personnel steer clear of civilian traffic, and improve access to hundreds of additional training acres. Congressman Kim has worked tirelessly to continue to advance this project through any and all avenues possible since being sworn in.
- Congressman Kim’s provision that would require the DoD to establish a center for excellence in an effort to prevent, mitigate, investigate, and respond to civilian harm in military operations.
- An item of special interest accompanying the bill encouraging the Special Operations Forces, including Navy SEALs, to expand and improve 24/7 medical care during and immediately following training/candidate recruitment exercises.
- A requirement for the Department of Defense to study the resources it would need to develop a public service cadet program at each military academy in order to urge more young people to get involved in public service.
Congressman Kim is a member of the House Armed Services Committee, the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and the House Small Business Committee. The Congressman is also a co-chair of the House Democratic National Security Task Force. Prior to serving in the House, Congressman Kim worked as a career public servant under both Democrats and Republicans. He served at USAID, the Pentagon, the State Department, the White House National Security Council, and as a civilian advisor in Afghanistan.
Original source found here.
