Gallagher Applauds House Passage of NDAA

WASHINGTON, D.C.-- Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel, today voted in favor of the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

The NDAA is the legislative vehicle that authorizes all programs and spending for the Department of Defense, and as a member of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Gallagher is responsible for helping draft this legislation.

Following the the bill's passage, Rep. Gallagher released the following statement.

"President Biden proposed a real defense cut at the same time our military is entering a window of maximum danger. That is completely unacceptable and today Congress took bipartisan action to stop it. This year's NDAA takes concrete steps towards preparing for a future conflict with China by investing in American hard power, strengthening American posture in the Indo-Pacific, and supporting our allies, all while benefitting Northeast Wisconsin. It also ends the Biden administration’s unnecessary and unscientific vaccine mandate, which has helped contribute to our unprecedented military recruiting crisis. While there is still much more work to be done, I'm proud to support this bill and hope President Biden quickly signs it into law."

The bill, which provides $858 billion in defense spending authorization, and $45 billion more than President Biden's budget request, included dozens of Gallagher-led provisions that will:

• Invest in American hard power
  • Fully funds the Navy's Frigate, made by Fincantieri Marinette Marine, and maintains vital Naval force structure
  • Authorizes additional funding for the Tactical Wheeled Vehicle Fleet
  • Establishes the Future of the Navy Commission to dig deep into Navy shipbuilding and planning issues and provide solutions to Congress
  • Bans DoD contractor operation of dangerous DJI drones on defense projects

• Strengthen American posture in the Indopacific:
  • Establishes a Joint Force Headquarters in the Indo-Pacific, advancing House language from a study to a formal structure
  • Codifies the Navy's critical role in peacetime deterrence in Title 10 to more appropriately reflect the current operations and resourcing necessary for the service
  • Authorizes enhanced missile defense architecture and capabilities for Guam

• Support our allies and partners:
  • Requires the U.S. government to conduct a table top exercise that stress-tests the U.S. response to an invasion of Taiwan across all elements of national power
  • Authorizes $2B annually through 2027 in Foreign Military Financing to bolster Taiwan’s defenses and enhance training of its forces
  • Fast-tracks Foreign Military Sales to Taiwan
  • Provides similar drawdown authority to arm Taiwan as we have Ukraine
  • Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to connect interested parties in transactions in the national security interests of the United States that might otherwise involve Chinese-affiliated entities
  • Establishes a joint submarine training pipeline with Australia

• Cut through DOD bureaucracy:
  • Creates an All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office to synchronize and standardize collection, reporting, and responses for unidentified anomalous phenomena across DoD and the intelligence community
  • Requires athletes at military service academies to serve two years in uniform before going pro

The bill also includes key provisions like:

• Mandating that the Secretary of Defense rescind the vaccine mandate
• Requiring a 4.6% pay raise for military personnel and civilian servants in defense
• Authorizes $11B for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative

Authorizes $2.7B boost in munitions production and authorizes $1B for acquiring strategic and critical materials