Washington, D.C. – Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 2810, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This bill authorizes funding for the Department of Defense and other related agencies for Fiscal Year 2018. Congressman Seth Moulton (D-MA) released the following statement in support of the NDAA’s passage:
Congressman Seth Moulton speaking today in Congress – click to listen
“Passage of the NDAA is critical to both our national security and local economy,” said Moulton. “The Sixth District plays a crucial role in our national defense. I’m proud to champion the industries, research, and individuals in our community that allow us to advocate for a strong, smart, and strategic approach to foreign policy. I will continue to be an advocate for the great work we are doing at home that plays such a vital role in our national defense.”
This bill contains important funding provisions that are beneficial to Massachusetts and the Sixth District, including:
$49.7 million in funding for MIT Lincoln Labs that enables this Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC), located in the Sixth District, to continue conducting critical research on advanced technologies such as microchips, outer space, cybersecurity, and next generation communications, among others.
$11.4 million for critical upgrades to the Vandenberg Gate at Hanscom Air Force Base to ensure the safety and security of base personnel while providing efficient base access.
Continued funding for vital programs managed at Hanscom Air Force Base such as $12.6 million for the modernization of the nation’s Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications (NC3) system and $417 million for recapitalization of the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS).
$29.6 million for the Defense Innovation Unit – Experimental (DIUx), which, with sites in Palo Alto, Boston, and now Austin, is making important advances in getting new technologies to our warfighters in the field.
In addition, Moulton led on key amendments contained in the bill that are critical to our national security and defense including:
Requirement for a Syria strategy: This amendment requires a comprehensive political and military strategy for U.S. policy in Syria to be submitted by the Departments of Defense and State to Congress and the American people within 90 days of enactment.
Requirement for a post-conflict strategy in Iraq: This amendment requires a periodic report from the Department of Defense on post-conflict stabilization capabilities and an assessment of how forces trained and equipped through the U.S. Office of Security Cooperation in Iraq (OSC-I) are prepared to provide post-conflict security in areas liberated from ISIL in both unclassified and classified form.
Legislative charter for Spirit of America: Spirit of America is a non-profit organization that provides humanitarian and economic assistance in response to local needs identified by deployed U.S. troops and diplomats. This amendment establishes a Congressional charter that allows Spirit of America to continue doing work that will save lives of U.S. service members and improve national security by enabling the Department of Defense, at its discretion, to utilize donated assistance to meet local needs in support of US missions abroad in pre-conflict and humanitarian support missions.
Military Family Service Corps: This amendment provides military dependents opportunity to earn monetary educational awards for voluntary service to local military communities across the country.
Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) Program: The SIV program affords Afghans such as interpreters the ability to resettle in the U.S. due to threats to their lives they and their families face on a daily basis due to their work with our armed services. Through a bipartisan effort, this program has remained alive and functioning, but the availability of visas has decreased as demand continues. This amendment requires the Department of Defense to brief the committee on the importance of the program to our forces and conducting our mission in Afghanistan as Congress considers adding new visas.
