Tuberville comments on Senate passage of the National Defense Authorization Act

Last week, the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was reported out of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC). On Tuesday U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) released a statement about the NDAA.

Sen. Tuberville serves on SASC. Tuberville said that during the committee markup process, he fought for Alabama's defense priorities and worked diligently to secure amendments that will directly benefit Alabama's installations, promote conservative values; while ensuring the United States military is the most lethal fighting force in the world.

"Alabama will always be my first priority," said Sen. Tuberville. "I am proud of the funding we were able to secure for our state in this year's NDAA. As Alabama's voice on the Senate Armed Services committee, I'm proud that the NDAA makes significant investments in Alabama's defense industry, including a 4.5% pay raise for our troops and advocating for additional MH-139 aircraft for Alabama's military bases."

Tuberville remains a critic of President Joseph R. Biden and his efforts to bring liberal social engineering into the Department of Defense.

"Under Joe Biden, our military has been infiltrated by woke politics that are distracting from the mission," said Tuberville. "This year's NDAA takes a step in the right direction. I secured provisions prohibiting taxpayer dollars from funding gender transition surgeries, slashing funding for DEI programs at the Department of Defense and increasing funding to secure the border and stop the flow of deadly fentanyl, amongst many other conservative wins."

"As Joe Biden has us on the brink of multiple wars, it is more critical than ever that we make key investments in our military," said Tuberville. "We may have different priorities, but we should all agree that the United States military should be the most lethal fighting force in the world. My top priorities this year were lethality, deterrence, and readiness-and I am proud to say we achieved that."

The Senate FY2025 NDAA: secures a 4.5% pay raise for military members, a 2% pay raise for DoD civilian employees, and increases the monthly basic pay for junior enlisted service members between the grades of E-1 through E-3, in addition to the force-wide pay raise.

The legislation prohibits the Department of Defense from spending tax-payer money to perform or facilitate sex change surgeries. It also restricts Department of Defense medical treatment facilities from being used to perform or facilitate a sex change surgery. The bill eliminates all funding for the Department of Defense's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs. It repurposes the controversial DEI funds for counterdrug initiatives and countering transnational organized crime to obstruct the flow of illegal aliens and illicit drugs, such as fentanyl, from coming across President Biden's wide-open border.

The Senate version of the bill secures a $25 billion increase to the defense budget topline. It urges the Air Force to fully fund the MH-139A aircraft. The MH-139A plays an integral role in protecting our nuclear arsenal by providing rapid response against threats to our land-based Intercontinental Ballistic Missile infrastructure. The bill also authorizes increased funding to enhance the submarine industrial base. It directs the Secretary of Defense to brief the congressional defense committees on the dominance of the battery market by foreign entities of concern and urges production of domestic batteries and battery material to meet our national security needs. It includes funding for a 100% domestically produced battery that is American sourced, more durable, more reliable, and cheaper than foreign nations, lessening U.S. dependency on China.

The Senate NDAA provides support for Israel, with U.S.- Israel counter tunneling cooperation and increases $47.5 million for U.S.-Israel cooperation on emerging technology. It secures funding to improve the Army aviation's ability to survive and execute missions with cyber and electromagnetic threats. It also creates new and innovative training opportunities for the National Guard, supports employee stock ownership plans (ESOP) that provide products and services to the Department of Defense, increases funding for the development of cost-effective Counter-UAS technology, authorizes the full budget request for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative to counter Chinese aggression, and secures funding to improve U.S. on-orbit satellite communication to keep pace with our adversaries.

The Senate version of the NDAA can now be considered by the full Senate.

The House of Representatives has already passed their version of the NDAA. That House version includes a much larger raise for junior enlisted servicemembers and a number of Republican priorities that could make for conflict with the Senate. Last year's NDAA was delayed months due to partisan conflict between the two Houses.

Senator Tuberville is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans' Affairs, and HELP Committees.

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