Today U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (FL14) released the following statement regarding the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The bill passed the U.S. House today, 344-81.

"U.S. service members at MacDill Air Force Base and beyond who protect all Americans will see direct benefits in the U.S. House’s 2018 defense bill, including an important pay increase and $8.1 million to fund infrastructure improvements to support the relocation of KC-135 tankers. I am proud that the NDAA also contains my official salute to Special Operations Forces on their 30th Anniversary,” U.S. Rep. Castor said.

Important provisions of the bill include:

• $8.1 million for the KC-135 beddown at MacDill AFB, an infrastructure investment that will keep the base’s refueling mission on track towards expansion;
• 2.4 percent military pay raise, and authorizes a wide array of bonuses and special and incentive pays for men and women in uniform;
• Enhanced bilateral cooperation to counter Russian propaganda aimed at undermining U.S. and allied national security, through prioritization of funding for the NATO Strategic Communications Center of Excellence and by encouraging greater leveraging of capabilities from U.S. Global Engagement Center;
• Limits on military-to-military cooperation with Russia;
• Resolution authored by U.S. Rep. Castor outlining numerous successful missions of the Special Operation Forces Community and their families over its 30-year history.

“While these provisions are vital for our Armed Forces and to protect our country, the overall authorization level of the bill fails to comply with the bipartisan discretionary spending caps imposed by the Budget Control Act (BCA) and misuses some of the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funds for non-OCO purposes. Appropriations levels at the level set in NDAA are not allowed under the BCA and could squeeze funding for other crucial priorities like education, medical research, environmental protection, infrastructure, law enforcement, diplomacy and more. Congress must pass a budget and implement funding levels that don’t pit priorities against each other,” U.S. Rep. Castor added.

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