WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Mike Turner (OH-10), a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement after the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act was passed out of the House Armed Services Committee by a vote of 57 to 1.
“Expanding facilities and capabilities at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is central to my work on the Armed Services Committee, and this year’s NDAA includes several initiatives that I have championed, which will bolster the important national security work being done in the Miami Valley,” said Congressman Mike Turner. “Wright-Patterson Air Force Base recently unveiled the National Air and Space Intelligence Center’s new Intelligence Production Complex III, underscoring the base’s critical role in supporting the Department of Defense’s surveillance and reconnaissance missions. The House Armed Services Committee’s passage of the FY25 NDAA is a critical step towards growing Wright-Patt, supporting our men and women in uniform, and enhancing Ohio’s defense industrial base.”
“Congressman Mike Turner continues to remain a strong advocate for the brave men and women who serve at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base,” said House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers. “Congressman Turner works tirelessly to strengthen our military and improve the quality of life for our servicemembers and their families. I thank Congressman Turner for his steadfast leadership on the House Armed Services Committee.”
On May 13, Congressman Turner celebrated two new projects at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, for which he secured federal funding in previous National Defense Authorization Acts.
Ribbon-cutting ceremony for NASIC’s Intelligence Production Complex III
- In the FY19 NDAA, Congressman Turner secured $182 million for the construction of IPC III.
- This new five-story facility adds 255,000 square feet of Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) space to NASIC’s main campus.
Ground-breaking ceremony for the Wright Care Child Development Center
- In the FY22 NDAA, Congressman Turner secured $24 million for the construction of a new on-base Child Development Center.
- The new Wright Care CDC will be a 41,000 square-foot building with the ability to serve over 200 additional children and includes force protection features and necessary spaces including classroom and play areas.
FY 2025 NDAA Highlights
Investments in the Competitiveness of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base:
- Authorizes $45 million for construction of the Human Performance Wing Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
- Authorizes $9 million in planning and design funding for the Advanced Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
Military Service Members and Families:
- Increases basic pay for junior enlisted servicemembers by 15 percent.
- Ensures the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) covers 100 percent of the calculated rate for the military housing area (MHA) and reduce errors in BAH calculations.
- Reevaluates the current calculation for BAS to make BAS a realistic allowance for service member household subsistence.
- Makes the Basic Needs Allowance (BNA) available to servicemembers with dependents with a gross household income less than 200 percent of federal poverty guidelines.
- Permanently authorizes the Military Spouse Career Accelerator Pilot which provides employment support to military spouses through a paid fellowship with employers across various industries.
- Permanently grants authority to the Department of Defense to make transferring professional licenses between states easier for military spouses.
- Expands eligibility for DoD Child Development Programs — both on and off-installation — for unemployed military spouses who are actively seeking employment.
- Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to establish a 5-year pilot program that expands qualifying life event under the TRICARE program to include pregnancy, allowing dependents of servicemembers to switch TRICARE plans at pregnancy.
- Requires the Military Advisory Panel to make recommendations on updating the Uniform Code of Military Justice to ensure it covers nonconsensual distribution of artificial intelligence or digitally manipulated images.
- Directs the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (USD P&R) to submit a report to HASC on the procedures governing administrative separation of military personnel accused of sexual assault and sexual misconduct offenses.
Healthcare:
- Requires the Defense Health Agency (DHA) to submit a report on providing access to care data for all healthcare services available at each MTF with inpatient capabilities to have a better picture of where issues exist.
- Directs DHA to establish an access to care standard for beneficiaries who receive urgent referrals for specialty behavioral healthcare appointments.
- Expands access to specialty providers.
- Reevaluates hiring and retention authorities available for civilian medical providers.
Technological Innovation and Industry:
- Fully funds the modernization of our aging nuclear triad and nuclear command, control, and communications (NC3) architecture.
- Fully funds the construction of new Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines.
- Furthers the development and provides for the deployment of AI, quantum computing, and autonomous systems.
- Establishes new mechanisms to expedite the deployment and integration of new warfighting technologies into the joint force.
- Authorizes essential military construction projects to support and defend our servicemembers and projection forces.
- Enhances the use of Partnership Intermediary Agreements (PIAs) to accelerate the transition of technologies from the defense laboratories to the private sector.
Foreign Policy and National Security:
- Asks the National Nuclear Security Agency for an Assessment on the impacts of detonation of a nuclear weapon in space.
- Prohibits the use of funds to provide strategic nuclear information to the Russian Federation under the New START Treaty.
Preventing CCP Espionage:
- Protects laboratories that test U.S. military equipment from Chinese espionage.
- Enhances the Army’s ability to identify and arrest spies in its ranks.
- Removes China from the defense supply chain.