U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), chairman of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, secured several of his priorities in the full committee’s recent passage of the Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
The Senate Armed Services Committee approved S. 4784 on June 5 and the measure now heads to the full U.S. Senate for consideration.
“I was glad to have several wins for South Dakota in the committee version of this legislation, including $43.7 million for military construction projects for the South Dakota National Guard in Sioux Falls and Sturgis,” Sen. Rounds said on Tuesday. “Our committee version of the bill fully authorizes the B-21 Raider program to be housed at Ellsworth, with $3.23 billion for procurement and another $4.25 billion in ongoing research and development for the platform.”
“I am also very pleased with the cyber provisions included to strengthen our nation’s offensive and defensive cyber capabilities, as well as ongoing efforts to accelerate AI adoption,” he added. “In an increasingly dangerous world, a consensus on defense spending is more important than ever.”
Among Sen. Rounds’ other victories for his home state included in the NDAA are authorizations of $146.8 million for the B-1B Lancer, $40 million for an Aircraft Maintenance Hangar for the South Dakota Air National Guard’s 114th Fighter Wing in Sioux Falls, and $3.7 million for a Vehicle Maintenance Shop for the South Dakota Army National Guard in Sturgis.
Additionally, S. 4784 would authorize $30 million for the University Consortium for Cybersecurity, including Dakota State University, and $50 million for small businesses and non-traditional contractors to cover their Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification costs to meet the Department’s cybersecurity standards.
Among the senator’s national defense priorities included in the measure is one to create an under secretary of defense for cyber, information, and networks, merging the department’s chief information officer and the principal cyber advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Defense into a single dual-hat individual.
According to Sen. Rounds’ summary released on June 16, another of his victories is one that would direct the Secretary of Defense to establish a joint program with Germany for co-development and co-production of air defense and air-to-air munitions to increase the defense industrial base capacity of both countries.
The lawmaker also applauded an authorization of funding to support a 3.6 percent pay raise for United States military members, and the establishment and continued operation of a Joint Interagency Task Force-Counter Cartel to coordinate and bolster the counter-cartel mission and defend the Southwest border, among many other provisions.
“I firmly believe that this year’s NDAA takes great strides to secure our nation and put us in a position to fight away games rather than on our own soil,” said Sen. Rounds. “I look forward to working with the rest of my Senate colleagues and the House to get the NDAA passed and signed into law.”