The U.S. House has approved the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 with some amendments introduced by Southwest Michigan’s representatives in Congress.
Congressman Tim Walberg says this year’s NDAA is designed to enhance national security and military readiness with a special focus on quality of life for the military community.
“The NDAA gives junior enlisted service members a 19.5% raise they’ve earned, boasts funding for improving housing, and takes multifaceted reforms to improve life for the families of service members,” Walberg said.
Walberg added four amendments to the legislation. One requires the Department of Defense to conduct a study on the effects on national security of automated vehicles associated with foreign adversary countries operating in the United States.
Another amendment from Walberg requires the Director of Defense Education Activity to publish policy guidance prohibiting the use of TikTok for instructional purposes at schools operated by the Department of Defense.
The third requires an annual report from DoD on the number of attempts that illegal migrants make to get onto military bases, and the fourth requires a report from the Department of Defense on their efforts to help the Department of Homeland Security secure the northern border.
Meanwhile, amendments from Congressman Bill Huizenga express the congressional opinion that all NATO member countries should commit at least 2% of their GDP to defense, require the DoD to report on efforts to limit the influence of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in the U.S., and require a report to Congress on the military activities of Russia and China in the Arctic Region.
Huizenga says the legislation also “takes steps to root out waste, saving taxpayers $30 billion by cutting inefficient programs, obsolete weapons systems, and unnecessary Pentagon bureaucracy.”
