WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Steve Daines today hailed the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which provides critical support for the nation’s military and national security.
“This legislation is critical to ensuring our men and women in uniform have the funding and support they need to fulfill their missions,” Daines stated. “The NDAA prioritizes the needs of our service members while protecting the important role that Montana holds in our national defense.”
Daines successfully included an amendment to the NDAA that would protect military couples from abrupt reductions in their housing allowances. Under the NDAA, current dual housing allowances to military spouses will be eliminated. Daines’ amendment will prevent those couples from losing the dual payment until they have a permanent change of station or move to on-base housing.
“Married military members shouldn’t have the rug pulled out from under them if they have a mortgage or a lease on their current home based on the allowance they were told they would be getting. My amendment protects them in their current home,” Daines stated.
In addition to Daines’ amendment, the NDAA includes the following key provisions to support the nation’s men and women in uniform and national security priorities:
- Fully authorizes spending on defense programs at the president’s budget request level of $612 billion for fiscal year 2016.
- Authorizes $75 million for the Southern Border Security Initiative to help address challenges facing the U.S.-Mexican border.
- Expresses the sense of the Congress that the nuclear triad plays a critical role in ensuring national security, and that it is the policy of the U.S. to operate, sustain, and modernize or replace the triad and to operate and modernize or replace a capability to forward-deploy nuclear weapons and dual-cable fighter-bomber aircraft.
- Increases the maximum annual amount of nuclear officer bonus pay to $50,000.
- Authorizes more than $135 billion specifically for military personnel, including costs of pay, allowances, bonuses, death benefits, and permanent change of station moves.
- Supports service members beyond their years of sacrifice to our nation by extending retirement benefits to the vast majority of service members left out of the current system.
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