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WASHINGTON, DC — Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11) expressed his support for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024, which was recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill now awaits the President's signature to become law.

In a statement, Rep. Pfluger emphasized the importance of a strong national defense that prioritizes the safety and lethality of the military. He stated, "Americans deserve a military that is laser-focused on lethality and protecting our safety." Pfluger also highlighted key conservative victories in the bill, including "securing the largest troop pay raise in twenty years, ending the woke ideology infiltrating our military, and a Parents’ Bill of Rights for military families."

As the Representative for Goodfellow Air Force Base and parts of Fort Cavazos, Pfluger expressed his pride in the improvements the legislation makes to support military families and critical investments for barracks, power generation, and other projects at Fort Cavazos.

The NDAA for FY 2024 includes several specific initiatives advocated by Congressman Pfluger. These initiatives mandate the Department of Defense to adapt its standard communications system, Link-16, and require deliveries of KC-46A Pegasus aircraft to Israel while providing training to Israeli pilots immediately. Additionally, the bill directs the DOD to produce a report on the Department's outreach to congressional districts to increase awareness of the benefits of military service.

The overall highlights of the FY 2024 NDAA focus on supporting military service members and their families, addressing critical race theory and gender ideology, improving healthcare, promoting technological innovation and industry partnerships, and enhancing foreign policy and national security.

The bill supports a 5.2 percent increase in servicemember basic pay, the largest pay raise in over 20 years. It also expands reimbursements available to military spouses for relicensing or business costs when servicemembers transfer locations and extends military recruitment and retention bonuses and special pay authorities. Furthermore, the NDAA ensures that members of the National Guard and Reserve are reimbursed for all housing costs during military training and expands childcare programs to focus on more rural areas.

To address concerns about critical race theory and gender ideology in the military, the bill prohibits LGBTQ+ pride and unapproved flags from being flown at military installations. It also requires that military accession or promotion in the Department of Defense be based on individual merit and demonstrated performance. Additionally, the NDAA prohibits the promotion of critical race theory in military training or education and defunds the Department of Defense Extremism Working Group.

Regarding healthcare, the NDAA strengthens oversight of the TRICARE pharmacy program and waives fees and copays on the TRICARE Dental Program for all members of the Selected Reserve. It also prohibits cuts in reimbursement rates for providers of applied behavior analysis for the treatment of autism and expands cardiac care programs.

In terms of technological innovation and industry partnerships, the bill improves the transfer of technologies from academia or industry into DoD labs and authorizes contributions to NATO's Defense Innovation Accelerator. It also establishes the Office of Strategic Capital and a pilot program for loans to support emerging technologies.

The NDAA also addresses foreign policy and national security concerns by directing the Secretary of Defense to report on enhancements to air and missile defense capabilities for NATO and removing outdated policy limitations on missile defenses against near-peer adversaries. The bill prohibits reductions in Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles and requires an assessment of joint U.S.-Taiwan production of weapons systems. It also mandates regular joint exercises between U.S. Central Command and Israel and extends the authority for DoD to transfer precision-guided munitions to Israel.

With its wide-ranging provisions, the NDAA for FY 2024 aims to strengthen national defense and support military personnel and their families. Congressman Pfluger's support for the bill highlights the conservative victories achieved and the improvements made to better serve military families and enhance military capabilities.

To find out more, go to this link: https://pfluger.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=956