The Annual Defense Package Includes Several Of Senator Rosen’s Provisions To Increase Housing Support For Servicemembers, Strengthen Cybersecurity, Modernize Fallon Range Training Complex, Protect Public Lands, And More
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) voted to pass the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (NDAA) and praised its passage with strong bipartisan support in the Senate, after previously passing the House. The $857.9 billion NDAA will deliver a 4.6% pay raise for our troops, invest in cybersecurity, continue support for Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression, and strengthen our national security. Senator Rosen once again helped shape the annual defense policy legislation as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
This year’s package includes more than 20 Rosen-led victories – including her Lander County Land Management and Conservation Act, which will transfer land to Lander County to improve airports, water infrastructure, support economic development, and designate over 14,000 acres of new wilderness; $56 million in funding for military construction projects in Nevada; modernization of the Fallon Range Training Complex at Naval Air Station Fallon, the U.S. Navy’s top legislative priority; conservation of over 580,000 acres of public lands in Nevada; provisions laying the groundwork to increase the Nevada Air National Guard’s firefighting capabilities; initial steps to create a new Civilian Cybersecurity Reserve, based on Senator Rosen’s bipartisan Civilian Cyber Security Reserve Act; and authorization to develop an integrated air and missile defense system, based on the Ernst-Rosen DEFEND Act.
The NDAA also includes key priorities for Nevada national security installations and servicemembers – This package authorizes $53 million for a major ongoing construction project at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) to safely verify the reliability of our nation’s nuclear stockpile. It also provides $62.6 million in funding for NNSS. Additionally, the bill does not include funding for the storage of defense nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain.
“This year’s defense bill delivers a well-deserved pay raise for our servicemembers and includes important provisions that I secured for Nevada’s military installations. It also incorporates my bipartisan bills to bolster America’s cybersecurity capabilities and protect hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands,” said Senator Rosen. “My work on the Armed Services Committee helped shape key parts of this legislation, and I will continue working across party lines to protect our nation, support our troops, and fight for Nevada’s priorities.”
Rosen-led Nevada priorities in the FY23 NDAA include:
- $56 million for construction of the Harry Reid Training Center in Reno for the Nevada Army National Guard, a new F-35C Maintenance Hangar at Naval Air Station Fallon, and the planning and designing of a dormitory at Nellis Air Force Base.
- Fallon Range Training Complex modernization: Senator Rosen worked with members of the Nevada Congressional Delegation as well as the U.S. Navy, the Department of Interior, local stakeholders, and Tribal nations to establish a compromise proposal to modernize the training range at Naval Air Station Fallon.
- In addition, the compromise includes key mitigations for local and Tribal governments, including permanently protecting over half a million acres of public lands; managing and protecting Tribal and cultural resources; continued access for Tribes and the public; requiring consultation by the Navy; providing additional land to Churchill County for economic development and public purposes; and funding for Tribes and Churchill County impacted by the expansion.
- Lander County Land Management and Conservation Act: Senator Rosen’s legislation, included in its entirety in the NDAA, will transfer land to Lander County to improve airports, allow access to water infrastructure, increase recreation and outdoor tourism opportunities, and support economic development, while also designating over 14,000 acres of new wilderness.
- Off-Base Military Housing Allowance for Junior Servicemembers: This package directs the Secretary of Defense to brief Congress on the implementation of the expanded dislocation allowance authority. This follows a year-long effort by Senator Rosen to make housing dislocation allowance available to junior servicemembers as they’re ordered to vacate barracks and dormitories due to housing shortages.
- Addressing Inflation at Military Exchanges: The NDAA directs the Secretary of Defense to report to Congress options for reducing the price of high-need products at military exchanges as inflation continues raising prices for servicemembers and their families.
- Report on Feasibility of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Crew Mission Readiness Program: Directs the Secretary of the Air Force to provide a report on establishing a program to help improve quality of life for remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) crews and their families, who face a retention and mental health crisis due to the stressors and intensity of their occupation. Creech Air Force Base is one of the highest operational tempo RPA installations throughout the Air Force.
- Increased wildfire fighting capabilities: This bipartisan bill directs the Secretary of the Air Force to brief Congress on their basing criteria for more capable C-130J aircraft to better fight wildfires and encourages the Air Force to follow through on its commitment to Senator Rosen to include firefighting missions as part of its basing criteria. This is a top priority for the Nevada Air National Guard.
- Reducing Language Barriers in Travel: Senator Rosen’s bipartisan TSA Reaching Across Nationalities, Societies, and Languages to Advance Traveler Education (TRANSLATE) Act, which will simplify air travel to places like Nevada for non-English speakers, international travelers, and those with visual and/or hearing impairments by requiring the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to develop a plan to ensure signage and information at major airports can be better understood by more people. The House companion to this legislation, introduced by Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV), passed the U.S. House of Representatives last year.
- One-Stop Security Pilot Program: Creates a pilot program at several airports to allow passengers and baggage arriving from foreign airports with very high security standards on par with those in the U.S. to bypass a second round of screening, making travel more efficient and effective, while maintaining high safety and security protocols. This provision comes from Senator Rosen’s bipartisan Omnibus Travel and Tourism Act.
- No funding for Yucca Mountain: Thanks to Senator Rosen’s efforts in the Senate Armed Services Committee, this year’s NDAA once again does not include any funding authorization for defense nuclear waste storage at Yucca Mountain.
Additional Rosen-led provisions in the FY23 NDAA include:
- Civilian Cybersecurity Reserve: Lays the groundwork for establishing a civilian cybersecurity reserve at the Department of Defense. This provision is based on bipartisan legislation introduced by Senator Rosen, which establishes a Civilian Cybersecurity Reserve pilot program at the Department of Defense to equip the Department with the supplemental personnel needed to respond to significant cyber incidents.
- Middle East Integrated Air and Missile Defense: Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to submit a strategy and seek to cooperate with partners and allies in the Middle East to develop a regional integrated air and missile defense to defend against threats from Iran and its terrorist proxies. This provision is based on Senator Rosen’s bipartisan, bicameral DEFEND Act introduced with Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA).
- Report on Military Capabilities of Iran: Modifies the annual report on the military capabilities of Iran to include an assessment of the threat from Iranian-aligned militia groups and the threats they pose to the U.S. and coalition forces serving in Iraq and Syria.
- Cyber Command Funding: Authorizes increased funding for U.S. Cyber Command’s hunt forward operations to help allied nations identify adversary operations and cyber vulnerabilities on their networks.
- Cyber Resilience of Nuclear Command and Control System: Extends the requirement for annual assessment of the cyber resiliency of the nuclear command and control system through 2032.
- Report on Cyber Capacity Building for Foreign Partners: Directs the Secretary of Defense to provide Congress with a report on the use of existing authorities to expand cybersecurity and cyber capacity building with our partner nations.
- Cutting Red Tape on Rapid Acquisition Authority: Aligns current law and Department of Defense policy to cut through red tape and allow for more rapid acquisition during urgent operational needs.
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