U.S. Senator David Perdue (R-GA) applauds the Senate Armed Services Committee for unanimously passing the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019. Senator Perdue secured more than 30 provisions of importance to Georgia in the annual defense bill, which now awaits consideration by the full U.S. Senate.  
 
“The world is more dangerous today than any time in my lifetime. We face complex threats from North Korea, Iran, Russia, and China, and our women and men in uniform need our full support to counter these threats around the globe,” said Senator Perdue. “Last year, we reinvested in our military to align funds with strategy and threats. This was a step in the right direction, but our armed forces need more resources to rebuild from the previous administration’s disinvestment. President Trump is committed to our troops and a healthy national defense. This defense bill is key to seeing this mission through. Georgia’s military community plays a key role in protecting our homeland, and this bill provides our bases with the tools they need to modernize our forces and prioritize readiness.”
 
Senator Perdue’s provisions address a range of issues from safeguarding U.S. military technology and fleet readiness to improved base conditions and medical care for service members. Here are some highlights:
 
·         Strengthens Readiness: Provides more flexibility for bases and installations to quickly improve their infrastructure and recognizes the importance of our service members and federal workers who ensure the readiness of our military personnel and equipment.
 
·         Incentivizes STEM Hiring: Directs the Department of Defense to develop competitive strategies to recruit, hire, and retain America’s best and brightest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
 
·         Infrastructure and Base Revitalization: Addresses the necessity to improve infrastructure and ensure the long term sustainment of all of our Georgia bases in order to provide better working conditions for our service members and civilian workforce, while continuing to make major contributions to our national defense.
 
·         Protects JSTARS Readiness: Prohibits the retirement of any aircraft in the JSTARS fleet and secures funding for critical upgrades to enhance the operability and service life of aircraft. Funding for Guard personnel is also restored.
 
·         Promotes Military Spouse Employment: Multiple provisions address issues with low rates of military spouse employment and provide better access to beneficial programs that will help military spouses navigate the challenges of military life while supporting their families and their service members.
 
·         Establishes Cyber Institutes: Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to establish Cyber Institutes at colleges and universities with Reserve Officers’ Training Corps across the country, with a preference for Senior Military Colleges, to help ensure a robust cyber pipeline for Active Duty, Guard, and Reservists.
 
·         Secures Critical Technologies: Protects critical technologies necessary for national security from falling into the hands of our global competitors and requires further investigation into industrial espionage and cyber theft conducted by China.
 
·         Supports Georgia Industries: Ensures funding for a wide range of military equipment that is produced by businesses across the state of Georgia.
 
·         Military Travel: Repeals a damaging cut to the per diem of our service members and federal employees conducting official long term travel that has been negatively impacting those individuals and the businesses and communities serving them.   
 
·         Condemns Illegal Activity: Condemns Russian actions that undermine America’s national security interests and the sovereignty of Georgia and Ukraine.
 
·         Bolsters Submarine Base: Funds the continued development and procurement of the Columbia-class submarine to be stationed at King’s Bay while also increasing support for the submarine industrial base and supply chain.
 
·         Repeals Compass Call Requirement: Repeals a burdensome requirement from the FY17 National Defense Authorization Act that has caused work stoppages and impacted Georgian workers.
 
·         Improves Base Resiliency: Commends the Marine Corps on using the challenges posed by the 2017 tornados to conduct a Base of the Future symposium. This will facilitate collaboration with local communities, industry, government, and academia in order to improve the resiliency of military installations.
 
·         Enhances Medical Care For Service Members: Secures funding for important medical research, development, and pilot programs that will enhance the care given to our service members at home and abroad.
 
·         Tackles Security Clearance Backlog: Requires DoD to report on how the agency will assume all background investigation responsibilities for the federal government, as well as the plan to eliminate the current backlog.
 
·         DoD Audit: Continues to provide crucial oversight of the DoD financial audit to ensure the transparent, accountable, and best use of taxpayer dollars that fund our national defense.