U.S. Reps. Martha McSally (R-AZ), Don Bacon (R-NE), and Dan Donovan (R-NY) on Aug. 13 attended the official presidential signing ceremony in Fort Drum, N.Y., to enact the nation’s new $717 billion defense law.
The John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2019, H.R. 5515, became law with the president’s signature as witnessed by Reps. McSally, Bacon, and Donovan, three of the six members of Congress invited by the White House to attend the event.
“I am thankful for the opportunity to join my colleagues and the President for this momentous occasion, as this was a bipartisan effort to ensure our military has what it needs to keep our nation secure and prosperous,” said Rep. Bacon. “For two years in a row, Congress has sent a strong bipartisan message that our military readiness is a national priority.”
Calling it a privilege to join President Trump in his home state, Rep. Donovan said common defense is one of the federal government’s fundamental responsibilities. “Today’s action by the president fulfills this duty and ensures a safer and more secure nation for the American people,” he said following the event.
Rep. McSally noted that the NDAA provides America’s military troops with a much-deserved 2.6-percent pay increase, the highest raise in nine years, and extends special pay and bonuses for skilled, high-demand military personnel.
“This bill also supports Arizona’s leading defense industry by increasing investment in critical munitions, next-generation weapons systems, and much more,” the congresswoman said.
For example, a total of $144 million included in the final NDAA will fund the A-10 wing replacement program to upgrade 14 to 20 planes based at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson. The law also targets $40 million for additional military construction for F-35 aircraft maintenance unit facility and squad operations at Luke Air Force Base in Maricopa County, Ariz., and increases resources for the testing ranges at the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Ariz.
“I’m working with President Trump to rebuild our military and grow our defense assets to ensure we continue to have the strongest military in the world,” Rep. McSally said. “We are repairing the harm done by the Obama Administration, which cut funding to our military and vital defense assets for almost a decade.”
The NDAA also restores military readiness and increases capability and capacity “in a force that has been asked to do too much with too little for too long,” said McSally, whom President Trump personally thanked during the signing event.
“There’s another member of Congress here today who is not only an Air Force veteran, but the first woman ever to fly a fighter jet in combat in U.S. history and I have gotten to know her very well and she is terrific, Congresswoman Martha McSally,” the president said. “Thank you, Martha, thank you for being here, thank you very much.”
The NDAA also includes legislation introduced by Rep. Bacon to guarantee access to military installations for Gold Star families, who are the relatives of U.S. military members who died in battle.
Rep. Bacon also secured in the law language that will improve the nation’s electronic warfare capabilities; limit use of Russian fuel at U.S. military installations in Europe; enhance the military transition assistance program; and support defense of Taiwan, among other provisions, according to the congressman’s staff.
Additionally, the NDAA earmarks more than $600 million to modernize aircraft based at Offutt Air Force Base in Sarpy County, Neb., and authorizes funds to replace the WC-135 and OC-135 observation aircraft.
“This bill helps restore our military readiness by equipping our brave women and men in uniform with the resources necessary to protect our homeland, providing troops with a well-deserved pay raise, strengthening cyber defenses, and making critical investments in military capabilities and technologies to address new and evolving threats,” Rep. Donovan said.
“We can never truly repay our service members for their sacrifices, but with today’s action our nation makes certain that they have the tools and resources needed to do their jobs,” Rep. Donovan said, adding that he will continue to prioritize the nation’s troops and veterans in Washington, D.C.