Hanna includes three amendments, bill provides largest pay raise for troops in six years
The House of Representatives today passed the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2017, which determined there will be no military base realignments or closures in 2018 and it includes a number of provisions to assist upstate New York’s service members and veterans.
The Base Realignment and Closure process, commonly referred to as BRAC, closes excess military installations.This bill prohibits a BRAC round from being authorized or carried out in 2018. This is especially important for facilities located at the former Griffiss Air Force Base – Rome Lab, the Eastern Air Defense Sector, and the Rome Defense Finance and Accounting Service site. To support our Southern Tier economy, this bill also invests in the multiservice F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, components of which are produced in Owego.
U.S. Representative Richard Hanna voted in favor of the NDAA, an annual bill which is necessary to perform some of the most basic and essential responsibilities of Congress – such as funding our Armed Forces and national defenses and paying the salaries of our servicemen and women.
“This important legislation will bring security to our critical Mohawk Valley defense installations, sustain jobs in the Southern Tier, and provide continued support for our service members and their families,” Rep. Hanna said. “It means no BRAC in 2018 and provides our armed services with the resources they need to respond to a diverse range of national security threats. The NDAA also gives our troops a well-deserved raise and overhauls the TRICARE health program for future enrollees while ensuring that current beneficiaries see no change to their existing plans. I am especially pleased to have included two amendments in this bill that improve our country’s defenses against cyberattacks.”
The bill now moves on to the Senate for approval.
Among the highlights of the bill:
DFAS and Rome Lab: This bill prohibits a BRAC round in 2018, which means that our region’s defense installations can rest assured that their vital work will continue in upstate New York. It also includes a 2 percent increase overall for Rome Lab (research and maintenance funding) and a 2 percent increase in the Lab’s research funds.
Southern Tier Economy: This bill includes funding for 63 additional F-35 Joint Strike Fighter planes, further research and development, and modifications to existing aircraft. Key components of this groundbreaking aircraft are being developed at Lockheed Martin’s Owego facility, which includes a Manufacturing Center of Excellence and employs more than 2,500 people.
Funding for Overseas Operations: This legislation authorizes funding to provide weaponry to Ukraine, train and arm Iraqi forces fighting the Islamic State, and to train and equip Afghan Armed Forces.
Guantanamo Bay: The bill continues to restrict the President’s ability to transfer Guantanamo Bay detainees to the United States. It also prohibits the use of funds to construct or modify a facility in the U.S. to house detainees.
TROOP PROVISIONS: This bill provides our war fighters and their families with the support they need, deserve and have earned. Among them:
– PAY: This bill authorizes a 2.1 percent pay increase for our men and women in uniform, and provides funding for 20,000 additional personnel for the U.S. Army. The additional funding is potentially beneficial to Fort Drum in Northern New York and 4,000 additional Air Force personnel.
– TRICARE: This bill includes improvements to the DoD TRICARE System, creating a two-tiered TRICARE health program for new service members while ensuring no changes to the out-of-pocket expenses for current service members and retirees. TRICARE is the health benefits program for active duty personnel and other beneficiaries, including dependents of active duty personnel, military retirees, and dependents of retirees.
HANNA AMENDMENTS
Rep. Hanna included three amendments in the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act:
Army National Guard Cyber Report: This amendment will ensure that Army National Guard Cyber Protection Teams (CPT) are fully integrated into the Department of Defense’s cyber mission force and would require the Secretary of the Army to brief members of Congress on a strategy for such inclusion within 180 days. New York’s Army National Guard formed a joint Cyber Protection Team with New Jersey’s Army National Guard in 2015. To ensure that this Cyber Protection Team is fully operational as soon as possible, it is vital that Army National Guard teams be incorporated into the cyber mission force to enhance access to key training programs.
Small Business Cyber Assistance: This amendment directs the Department of Homeland Security and the Small Business Administration to develop a joint “Small Business Development Center Cyber Strategy.” This strategy would provide guidance to Small Business Development Centers, outlining potential policies and approaches for leveraging existing federal resources to streamline cyber assistance to small businesses. This amendment will ultimately provide Small Business Development Centers with the tools, resources, and expert guidance they need to better meet the 21st century needs of small businesses.
Promoting Reliable Subcontractors: This amendment is based on Rep. Hanna’s stand-alone bill, which establishes a pilot program enabling small businesses to request past performance ratings for work performed as first-tier subcontractors under certain types of federal government contracts. Specifically, the program would allow these businesses to utilize the federal government’s system for monitoring and recording contractor past performance for work completed under a prime contractor that is required to submit a subcontracting plan. The small business subcontractors would then be able to use the past performance ratings provided to establish their past performance to bid on prime contracts. In allowing small businesses to request and receive these ratings using the government’s system, the bill would increase transparency in agency contracting and maximize opportunities for small businesses.