What does the defense authorization bill mean for Georgia troops?
Congress has passed this years National Defense Authorization Act. The 4,408 page bill lays out not only recommended funding levels (the actual money is appropriated separately), but also sets policy for a vast swath of military and even non-military issues.
The bill passed the House last week, and the Senate on Thursday evening. For service members in Georgia, the law will impact everything from their pay to childcare.
Full summary:House Armed Service's Committee full summary of NDAA FY 2023
Mold and more:Mold, roots in toilet among issues Fort Gordon resident faced in on-base housing
Pay, benefits, quality of life and justice
Service members will receive a 4.6% increase in basic pay.
Housing allowances can increase by 2% and the bill aims to increase transparency and flexibility around housing alliances.
It authorizes several studies into childcare, including expanding availability and access in areas without adequate child care.
It authorizes $50 million for local schools with military dependent students.
It requires independent investigators outside of the chain of command to look into claims of sexual harassment and moves the decision to refer it for court martial to an independent Special Trial Counsel.
Facilities and housing
It requires briefing the House Armed Services Committee before extending leases for private military family housing, alongside an annual briefing to congress.
Mandates are in place for mold inspections before new tenants occupy privatized military housing units.
Fort Gordon is authorized for $5 million for the Child Development Center.
Fort Gordon is also authorized for $2 million for an Army National Guard and Reserve center.
Fort Dobbins is authorized for $5 million for an Army Reserve center.
Major investments in the Naval Submarine Base at Kings Bay total more than $90 million.
Facilities at Moody Air Force Base total almost $7 million.
Power generation and microgrid work at Fort Stewart - Hunter Army Airfield is at more than $25 million.
Georgia congressional priorities
Georgia Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff introduced legislation to examine the current Basic Allowance for Housing. They want it to be recalculated more frequently and if there is a better way for it to takes things like schools into account.
Warnock's office said that the senator heard particular concerns about BAH covering housing for families at Marine Corp Logistics Base in Albany and Fort Benning in Columbus. Ossoff heard concerns at Fort Stewart about body armor not fitting female service members, and the final bill includes a specific authorization for purchasing "female/small stature body armor."
The legislation ended the COVID vaccine mandate for troops, something that Augusta-based Rep. Rick Allen applauded.
"For months, my colleagues and I have fought against President Biden’s overreaching vaccine mandates," he was quoted as saying in a news release.
Rep. Buddy Carter of Pooler also celebrated the end of the COVID vaccine mandate, and that the bill prevented the closure of Savannah's Combat Readiness Training Center.
"We should be opening up more Combat Readiness Training Centers, not shutting them down," he wrote in a newsletter to constituents. "I could go on and on about this bill, but long story short, it will make life better for service members and their families, strengthen national security, and counter our adversaries’ aggression, particularly China and Russia."
One thing that is not included — Warnock's "Love Lives On Act," a bipartisan proposal to allow the spouses of service members who die in the line of duty to keep their survivor benefits if they remarry before the age of 55.
Bipartisan support and opposition
The chairs and ranking members of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees announced a bipartisan agreement on the bill on Dec. 6.
"This year’s agreement continues the Armed Services Committees’ 62-year tradition of working together to support our troops and strengthen America’s national security," they said in a joint statement. "We urge Congress to pass the NDAA quickly and the President to sign it when it reaches his desk."
But the legislation, which passed the House with bipartisan support, also faced bipartisan opposition — of 430 votes cast, 101 were nays. The bill has a price tag of $847.3 billion, an eye popping number that is higher than the $813.3 billion the Biden administration requested in March and significantly higher than the $768 billion authorized last year.
Even within the Georgia delegation the support and opposition crossed party lines. Republican Reps. Andrew Clyde, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Jody Hice, Barry Loudermilk and Democrat Nikema Williams all voted against the bill.
Clyde, a Navy veteran, said the bill "squanders taxpayer dollars on Green New Deal initiatives, woke proposals, and foreign-aid programs," adding, "I refuse to send another dime to Ukraine without a full audit of the billions of dollars in U.S. aid already sent overseas."
Williams, the chair of the Georgia Democratic party, opposed the bill apparently due to the price tag.
I voted against today's National Defense Authorization Act when it passed the House. As we continue to underinvest here at home, I believe that we must find better balance to keep Americans safe while investing in our future.
— Congresswoman Nikema Williams (@RepNikema) December 8, 2022
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Troop pay raise, construction at Forts Gordon, Stewart in NDAA
