House Republicans' Achievements in 2023

Floor Speech

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Mrs. KIGGANS of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the fiscal year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I have had the honor of working on this important legislation for months and am proud of the final bipartisan bill we produced to strengthen our national security.

One of the main reasons I came to Congress was to restore America's military strength and improve the quality of life for our servicemen and -women. This bill takes several critical steps to help us achieve that goal.

In total, this year's NDAA authorizes $886 billion in national defense discretionary programs with the focus on improving our readiness and recruitment, supporting our servicemembers and their families, strengthening partnerships with our allies, increasing the lethality of our Joint Force, equipping our warfighters to successfully complete their mission, and ensuring vigorous oversight of taxpayer dollars at the Pentagon.

I wanted to speak specifically to a few components of the NDAA, why it is a great bill, why I am excited to support it and encourage my colleagues to do the same.

First of all, a large component of the NDAA is about supporting our servicemembers and their families. It secures the largest pay raise in 20 years for our servicemembers at 5.2 percent. We continue to see our servicemembers struggling with the economy. They are unable to afford things, not just gas and groceries, but things like buying a new home, buying a new car. We have servicemembers that still qualify for things like SNAP benefits and WIC benefits. We still see food pantries that exist on our bases. Providing that important pay raise, again the largest in over 20 years, was a very important component of taking care of our men and women.

This NDAA also authorizes $356 million over the President's budget request to renovate and build new barracks. We had a GAO report come out recently that really highlighted some of our insufficiencies when it comes to housing, especially unaccompanied housing--the mold issues, the pest issues, and the out-of-date infrastructure that is old and dilapidated. We can do better for our servicemen and -women. This bill provides just that.

It is a starting point. There is a lot to do, but I am excited to support it for that reason. The NDAA also includes a parents bill of rights at DOD schools.

I represent Virginia's Second Congressional District, so it is kind of the birthplace of the parents' rights matter movement. We were able to incorporate why it is important to have parents involved in their children's school into this NDAA piece so that it applies to DOD schools as well.

The bill also authorizes DOD to reduce the out-of-pocket childcare expenses for military families and provides $153 million over the President's budget request for the construction of new childcare centers. In my district, I have Naval Air Station Oceana. Our base has over 1,600 people on the waiting list. That is not acceptable, and my base is not alone.

If you were to look at other bases, they have the same amount on their waiting lists. We can do better than this. It is an important way to support our servicemembers and their families.

This bill also authorizes an additional berthing barge to provide a safe and healthy housing alternative for Navy servicemembers during dry-dock availabilities. We just had an article come out about the USS Stennis in Newport News, which is where the shipyard is. It will be the first to have off-ship housing, free WiFi, and better parking. We have to take care of our servicemen and -women who are in these extended port periods, especially when their ships are being repaired. This bill does just that.

This NDAA also provides oversight for taxpayer dollars. It cuts $37 billion in inefficient weapons systems, Defense programs, and Pentagon bureaucracy. It requires mandatory DOD audits, and it also establishes a special inspector general to oversee and monitor security assistance going to Ukraine.

I have been a supporter of Ukraine. I think we need to continue to support that fight in Ukraine; however, it cannot be a blank check. There has to be some accountability, and this inspector general will do just that.

This NDAA also improves readiness and recruitment, and this is something I have been focused on. We have a recruitment, retention, quality of life task force that has been part of our Armed Services Committee. We have been focusing on that for several months now. This NDAA is a good place to start.

It creates a grant program to expand the capacity of our shipyards. We see that we are behind in our shipbuilding capacity. We know that China is outpacing us. China is rapidly approaching 400 ships, while we are hovering at just under 300. It is so important that we invest in that shipbuilding piece and, additionally, supporting our ship repair industry.

This bill also increases the number of Junior ROTC programs and instructors at U.S. high schools. That is such an important part of our recruiting for our Armed Forces. I want people to be in our great Navy and Army and Air Force and to join our great military. It is a great way for people to have jobs and education benefits and healthcare. Plus, there is no better place to advertise for our military than starting with our young people. Putting that investment in the JROTC programs is so important, and this NDAA does that.

This bill also extends military recruitment and retention bonuses and special pay authorizations. We have got to stay competitive with civilian jobs that are out there. I know there is a lot of competition in workplaces, and this NDAA will help the military to stay competitive.

It also rejects the Biden administration's efforts to reduce the size of our Navy by protecting four battle force ships with years of service life remaining. The President had asked to decommission eight ships, and we reduced that number to four. We really can't afford to decommission any ships, in my opinion, but we cut it to four. We have to make sure that we are providing oversight of the money and investment that we are putting in ship repair. We need to watch that our ships are getting repaired and they are getting repaired on schedule because we need every single one of them.

This bill also establishes enlisted training pilot programs at community colleges offering more educational opportunities for our enlisted servicemen and -women. It prohibits DOD from contracting with any CCP or Chinese-owned or controlled company operating in the U.S., which is such an important piece of national security.

This NDAA also strengthens partnerships with our allies. We need our friends now more than ever. This bill fully funds our Pacific Deterrence Initiative. It provides for the implementation of the AUKUS agreement with Australia, unlocking over $3 billion in Australian investments in the U.S. submarine industrial base.

It authorizes over $987 million in INDOPACOM Commander priorities, which were left unfunded in the Biden budget. It strengthens training and advising for the military forces of Taiwan and extends authority for the transfer of weapons systems, as well as precision-guided munitions to Israel.

This NDAA also protects our own national security. We do have some border wins that we were able to get and secure in this NDAA. It fully funds the deployment of National Guardsmen in support of Border Patrol activities. It extends the Pacific Deterrence Initiative to enhance U.S. deterrence and defense posture in the Indo-Pacific region. It funds initiative of $14.7 billion, an increase of $5.6 billion over the budget request. It prohibits the DOD from reducing the number of intercontinental ballistic missiles below 400 or reducing the responsiveness or alert status of the arsenal.

I am also proud that my colleagues from both sides of the aisle supported my effort to include critical provisions from my Sailor Standard of Care Act in our Nation's most important Defense bill. These provisions will directly benefit servicemembers and their families in Hampton Roads and throughout the country by improving our servicemembers' quality of life by increasing access to mental health care.

As a nurse practitioner, focusing on mental health care, especially for our military members and especially for our veterans, has been something that I fight for every single day. We had provisions of the Sailor Standard of Care Act get into the NDAA and into the Conference version, which we will be voting on tomorrow.

Some of those provisions are that it examines reimbursement rates for mental health care providers under TRICARE.

When I meet with mental health care providers in my district, and throughout the country really, they have that same concern, they want to be reimbursed. There are not enough of them.

We want them to be partners in care for our military members and our veterans, so we need to make sure we are providing that reimbursement, and we are providing it in a timely manner.

This bill also directs the Navy to look into constructing and managing a dashboard to track quality-of-life programs and their utilization rate. So we are looking at things like healthcare, childcare, spouse employment, housing, and we are making sure we are providing the best services we can, again, for our military.

This bill requires a report on the feasibility of expanding TRICARE for life to include a benefit for the SilverSneakers program, mimicking the existing benefit that is included under some of our Medicare Advantage programs.

We had constituents that asked for this program. They want to utilize public gyms and recreation facilities, and so we would like the TRICARE program to cover it for our older adults who would love nothing more than to go exercise.

This bill also assesses the feasibility of providing additional mental health resources to limited-duty sailors. In Hampton Roads, we saw an increase in the suicide rates for sailors that we took out of the workplace, that we took out of the mission, and we kind of had them in a waiting area.

In this bill, we are looking at how long is that taking to medically process people out?

Are we providing those mandatory mental health screenings?

Are we taking care of them? Who is providing that care?

This bill is going to look at expanding that care so that chaplains can do it and corpsmen can do it. There is a shortage of mental health care providers. So really looking holistically at how we are providing the mental health services to our servicemen and -women and providing them with the best mental health services that we can.

The harsh reality is that the world is a dangerous place. The United States and its allies are facing unprecedented and rapidly evolving threats across the globe. China is outpacing us in warship production. China has 350 ships and is quickly moving to 400 ships compared with our 293.

Iranian proxies have attacked American bases and troops stationed overseas over 46 times since October 17. Israel is countering the most horrific attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust.

North Korea launched its first military reconnaissance satellite into orbit last month with the help of Russia. Russian aggression continues in Ukraine, with Putin threatening to go after NATO member countries next.

Now more than ever, we must prioritize and project American strength across the globe. This legislation goes a long way in achieving that goal. The goal of this legislation is deterrence, it is all about peace through strength. America leads the world in peacekeeping forces, and it is so important. I can think of no other country that I would want to have this role than our great Nation, the United States.

In closing, Madam Speaker, the fiscal year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act ensures our military can remain the best in the world. It refocuses our Nation's efforts on advancing military readiness and quality of life to make sure our men and women in uniform are ready to fight tonight.

As a former Navy helicopter pilot, as a third-generation veteran, military spouse, and mother to children who serve, I will always be the loudest voice for our military men and women in Congress. I urge all of my colleagues to support this critical legislation.

Passing this year's NDAA by a wide bipartisan margin would send an important signal to the men and women defending our freedom that those of us in Congress will rise above our differences to prioritize their needs and our national security above all else.

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