Congress Passes $768 Billion Annual National Defense Authorization Act with Major Reforms Impacting Country and Hawai"i

Statement

U.S. Congressman Ed Case (HI-01) announced that Congress has passed the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that makes changes to the policies and organization of the country's defense agencies and provides guidance on how military funding can be spent. The Fiscal Year (FY) NDAA authorizes $768 billion in defense spending and includes key provisions reforming the military sexual harassment laws, addressing multiple military quality of life matters, investing in Hawaii's infrastructure and rebalancing our military's efforts in the Indo-Pacific.

"To address how the military handles sexual assault cases, the NDAA includes the biggest reform in 50 years for the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which provides the legal framework and a special set of laws that govern all members of the United States military," said Case. "This important reform revamps the way in which the military handles sexual assault cases by taking the process out of the hands of commanders that may have conflicts of interest. Congress directed the military to transfer these cases to special independent prosecutors."

Case said the NDAA also focused on military readiness with special attention paid to the quality of life among the troops. "The measure creates a tenants Bill of Rights for those who reside in military housing and calls for the development of more child care centers," explained Case. This provision is directly related to problems highlighted the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies, on which Case serves.

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