U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (FL14) released the following statement upon the House’s 350-80 passage of the bipartisan FY23 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA):

“The American people witness the bravery and commitment of our military service members everyday, and 2022 brought new challenges in defending our nation and its values in the aftermath of Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and the growing threat posed by China. That is why we passed a defense bill that equips our military and the Department of Defense with the necessary resources and technology to meet current and the evolving threats against the United States and its allies.

“Our service members and their families also need lower costs to combat the rising cost of living while they’re serving our nation at home and abroad, so the increase in military basic pay by 4.6 percent for our troops was a priority for me for their service and sacrifice. A hot housing market also required adding funds to the basic allowance for housing to ensure that military families can find adequate housing wherever they may serve and lower costs at the same time. We also provide support for the costs of everyday food and products service members purchase from commissaries.

“Important missions at MacDill AFB are receiving vital investments, including $50,000,000 for construction of a Special Operation Forces Operations Integration Facility and an investment in the Joint MISO WebOps Center (JMWC) at MacDill AFB to help modernize their work in the global information space.

“I was proud to advocate for language to help better tackle the challenges that our Special Operator service members face when transitioning to civilian life. I worked with my fellow co-chairs of the Special Operations Forces Caucus on a provision requiring the Government Accountability Office to conduct a report on the ability of servicemembers assigned to Special Operations units to utilize Department of Defense transition programs. It’s our duty to serve our men and women in uniform as well as they serve us, and that includes meeting their needs – physical, mental and financial – when they return home.

“Special Operators in Florida are feeling the impacts of the child care shortage, with many having to drive over an hour each way to drop their kid off every day. I’m proud to share that this bill includes $4,750,000 for the Camp Bull Simons Child Development Center in the Florida Panhandle, which will allow for an increase in staff members and children who can attend, lessening the burden on Florida’s military members. The Defense Department will also submit a brief regarding child care at military installations that do not currently offer child care or need more spots offered – it is my hope that we can grow military child care centers around the country to provide consistent child care for parents in our armed services.

“Recognizing that climate change increasingly threatens our national security and bottom line, the NDAA includes provisions to tackle these challenges head on, with measures to increase energy security, pilot sustainable aviation fuels, and strengthen our military installations against extreme heat and storms and other climate-fueled threats.

“Earlier this year, the lives of over 3.5 million veterans who have toxic exposure were changed after we passed the Honoring Our PACT Act and President Biden signed it into law. Once more, it is my hope that the Congress will work in a bipartisan fashion to support our military families. As we approach the end of the year, the Senate must work quickly to pass this critical defense bill to support the work of our troops at home and abroad as it has in years past.”

The NDAA includes the following priorities for MacDill Air Force Base and Tampa residents:

Supporting Military Members and their Families

• Increases basic pay by 4.6% for service members
• Increases service member housing allowance by 2% and requires a report on a more transparent, fair, and flexible way to calculate the basic allowance for housing
• Increases the threshold to be eligible for the Basic Needs Allowance (BNA) to up to 150% of the federal poverty line
• Increases funds for the commissaries to help offset higher prices and lower costs
• Establishes a five-year pilot program to reimburse service members for childcare due to a permanent change of station or assignment
• Authorizes childcare fee reductions for children of military child development center employees
• Extends critical recruitment and retention incentive programs
• Requires Secretaries of the military departments to explore all feasible options for improving availability and access to childcare in areas that are remote or lack adequate childcare availability
• Supports Spouse Employment through financial reimbursement for moving expenses for spouses with home businesses, and noncompetitive appointment authority to certain spouses of military personnel and disabled veterans.
• Permits the Secretary of Defense to expand restricted reporting of sexual assault for civilian employees. Prior to this, civilian employees could only file unrestricted reports with the military
• Requires independent trained investigators outside of the immediate chain of command to investigate claims of sexual harassment
• Establishes policies to ensure accountability as it relates to wounded, ill, and injured service members during the Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES) process

Housing Oversight

• Requires the military departments to notify and brief the House Armed Services Committee before executing any lease-term extension for a privatized military family housing project, and an annual briefing on the health and status of military housing privatization projects enterprise-wide
• Requires that the services conduct mold inspections before new tenants move into vacant privatized housing units while also requiring that these new tenants be provided the inspection results
• Reports on the capacity of the DoD to provide emergency short-term housing to survivors of natural disasters
• Reports on the housing realities, difficulties, and needs facing junior members of the Armed Forces, including a review of available housing stock and plans to address any shortages productively and cost-effectively

Veterans

• Calls for a report on how often and what type of supportive services (including career transition and mental health services and services for elderly veterans) are being offered to and used by veterans, and any correlation between a lack of supportive services programs and the likelihood of veterans falling back into housing insecurity

Supporting Our Allies

• Conduct a thorough review of efforts to support and process evacuees from Afghanistan and the Afghanistan special immigrant visa program.

• Includes $800 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), which provides support and assistance to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, an increase of $500 million above the budget request. Harmonizes USAI statutory authorities with changes made in the Ukraine Supplemental acts and allows for the replenishment of stocks of comparable ally and partner equipment provided to Ukraine.