WASHINGTON, DC - Following the House Armed Services Committee passage of the FY2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Turner issued the following statement:
“Early this morning in the Armed Services Committee, I voted to increase President Biden’s inadequate defense budget that would have left our military without the support they need to keep our Nation safe. I was also able to include significant funding for Wright-Patt,” said Turner. “This legislation helps ensure that our men and women in uniform have the necessary resources to fight terrorism and combat the increasing threats from Russia and China,” Turner concluded.
Congressman Turner successfully included several additional initiatives in the Committee’s version of the FY2022 NDAA that improve the funding and existing policy for our Nation’s military:
Military Construction Initiatives
- Wright Patterson Air Force Base – Child Development Center: $24 million.
- Wright Patterson Air Force Base – Army Reserve Center Training Building: $19 million.
- Wright Patterson Air Force Base – Human Performance Wing Laboratory: $40 million.
- Wright Patterson Air Force Base – Bionatronics Research Center Laboratory: $33.8 million.
- Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport – Base-Wide Microgrid: $4.7 million.
- Camp Perry, Ohio – Red Horse Logistics Complex: $7.8 million.
- Youngstown Air Reserve Station – Assault Strip Widening: $8.7 million.
Funding Authorization Initiatives
- $15 million for the Carbon Industrial Base.
- $5 million for Thermal Protection System Development.
- $8.7 million for Trustworthy Chip-Locking Microelectronics Security.
- $15 million for Defense Community Infrastructure Program.
- $6 million for Army Land Surveying Systems.
- $15 million for Metals Affordability Research.
- $5 million for the Mobile Compact High-Energy Laser.
Improving the United States Air Force Policy and Space Force
- Authorizes the divestiture of C-130 aircraft to facilitate the remission of the Ohio Air National Guard’s 179th Air Wing as a Cyber Wing.
- Requires an acquisition strategy for continued development, integration, and operational fielding of an advanced propulsion system into the U.S. Air Force fleet of F-35A aircraft.
- Establishes an annual review of F-35 sustainment efforts.
Improving Military Family Housing
- Requires command oversight of military privatized housing as an element of military performance evaluations.
- Directs an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Tenant’s Bill of Rights implementation for military family housing.
- Clarifies that window fall prevention requirements apply to all military family housing regardless of whether the housing is privatized or owned and operated by the Government and withholds certain funding until the Department assesses child safety issues in military family housing units.
Addressing Mental Health
- Directs a report on the expansion of the Health Professions Scholarship Program and the prioritization of retaining mental health providers.
- Directs a report evaluating the military’s suicide prevention efforts and the method of incorporating innovative technologies in identifying at-risk individuals to prevent the tragedy of suicide.
- Directs the awarding of grants to carry out collaborative research between the U.S. and Israel with respect to post-traumatic stress disorders.
Improving Sexual Assault Prevention and Response
- Establishes civilian positions to support Special Victims’ Counsel.
- Directs transitional compensation and benefits for the former spouse of a service member who allegedly committed a dependent-abuse offense during marriage.
- Created an independent military prosecutor to supervise complex, sex-related offenses and any offenses involving a minor victim.
Strengthening Foreign Policy
- Directs a report on the U.S. equipment, property, and classified material that was destroyed, surrendered or abandoned during the catastrophic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
- Supports Poland’s decision to purchase 250 U.S.-made Abrams tanks to increase modernization, lethality, and interoperability with NATO forces.
- Directs a report on Chinese and Russian chemical and biological weaponization efforts.
- Addresses directed energy attacks against U.S. personnel by integrating cross-agency efforts to address and mitigate these attacks and ensuring victims receive timely and comprehensive care.
- Directs a report on China’s military and security developments, including China’s composition, disposition, strength, involvement in Latin America, and expansion of the Belt and Road initiative.
- Requires a report on Russian influence operations and campaigns that target U.S. military alliances and partnerships. Prohibits the use of funds to implement any activity that recognizes the sovereignty of Russia over Crimea.
More press statements on the NDAA can be found here.