Udall says there is unfinished business restoring Congressional war powers authority and re-balancing domestic and military funding
WASHINGTON— Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) voted in favor of the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), joining the full bipartisan Senate vote of 84-13 to pass the critical defense bill that sets policy and authorizes programs for the upcoming fiscal year. The bill includes Udall’s bipartisan Mothers of Military Service Leave (MOMS) Act, a pay raise for service members, and major provisions that Udall championed to support New Mexico’s military families and veterans, federal workf0rce, military bases, nuclear security labs, environmental cleanup, and defense priorities. Importantly, the bill preserves civilian control over the budget for the Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), rejecting an earlier attempt in the Senate to erode civilian authority over the nation’s nuclear weapons program. The House of Representatives voted 335-78 to pass the defense bill Tuesday, which now heads to the president’s desk with support of a strong bipartisan majority in both chambers of Congress. The bill also includes a provision Udall supported to stop honoring the pro-slavery confederacy at military installations within three years.
“New Mexico has always made valuable contributions to our national security, and I am proud to have fought for significant funding to support our state’s priorities in the final defense spending bill. This bill will support our national defense and our communities at a difficult time for families across our state,” Udall said. “I am also proud that the Senate worked across party lines to secure a two-thirds bipartisan majority on this vital national priority. In particular, I am thrilled that my legislation was included to make sure that military moms who are Members of our National Guard and Reserves get the maternity leave they deserve. In addition, the bill gives a well-deserved pay raise to our men and women in uniform. I’m also pleased that it authorizes funding to bolster our search for a COVID-19 vaccine, and our response to this pandemic, and that the bill supports our state’s bases, labs, and environmental cleanup efforts. And we were able to reverse a misguided effort in the bill that would have reduced accountability and DOE’s authority over the nation’s nuclear security program in favor of the Pentagon.”
“Overall, this bill has many good provisions that I support. However, I have worked throughout my career in public service to reaffirm Congress’s sole constitutional authority to declare war. We owe it to our brave men and women in uniform and the American people to take the hard votes to prevent the endless wars we are still waging in the Middle East. While I supported the final bill, I am disappointed that my bipartisan amendment to end American involvement in the Afghanistan war, sunset the 2001 AUMF, and provide bonuses for those who served in Afghanistan were not included, and I believe that we should rethink our funding priorities related to our defense budget. That’s why I supported Senator Sanders’ amendment to put domestic investments in the American people on an equal footing,” Udall continued. “With millions out of work and inequality worsening, now is the time for our nation to truly invest in our people, our priorities, and our values. By redirecting funding for legacy and outdated military systems to domestic priorities and research and development, we could do so much good for struggling New Mexicans and Americans, while still maintaining the highest military budget in the world by far. We need to use this bipartisan momentum to treat the current pandemic and deep economic recession like the crisis it is, and realize that our society needs to put people back to work and grow the economy, invest in our kids’ education and our teachers, and provide health care, housing and food for families that have been left behind.”
Udall championed the following provisions of the national defense bill:
- The Mothers of Military Service (MOMS) Leave Act , with Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kansas): This legislation will ensure that women serving in the U.S. National Guard and Reserve can take maternity leave without worrying about the consequences of how it will affect their military service. For more information click HERE .
- Pay Raise for the Troops: The bill authorizes a three percent pay raise for men and women in uniform.
- Authorizing Funding for COVID-19 Vaccine Research and Pandemic Response: The bill authorizes $44 million for vaccine and biotechnology research supported by DOD, provides reserve retirement relief for service members affected by the COVID-19 stop movement order, directs the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness to provide a briefing on the effect of non-essential training reductions on the morale and readiness of military personnel, implements a pilot program on civilian and military partnerships to enhance interoperability and medical surge capability and capacity of the National Disaster Medical System, which will provide training, expand capacity, and establish a framework for well-coordinated federal response to pandemics and other threats.
- Los Alamos National Lab Clean-Up and NNSA Funding: The president’s FY21 budget had proposed cutting funding for LANL cleanup from $220 million this year to only $120 million for fiscal year 2021. The NDAA restores funding to $220 million. The conference report authorizes full funding for NNSA and New Mexico’s national labs.
- Civilian Control Over NNSA:
An amendment from Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) was included that amends provisions which would have reduced DOE’s control over its own budget and eroded civilian control over the nuclear security complex.
- Encourage Technology Cooperation with Israel:
The final FY 2021 NDAA contains report language that supports Udall’s effort to improve directed energy cooperation with Israel. Udall introduced a
2018 amendment
which passed the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, furthering efforts to explore directed energy cooperation with the state of Israel to detect, track, and destroy unmanned aerial vehicles that threaten the security of the United States and Israel.
- Military Construction:
Udall helped secure $46.6 million for Kirtland Air Force Base to construct a new administrative building that the Defense Threat Reduction Agency needs to further national security goals to prepare for and combat weapons of mass destruction and improvised threats, and to ensure nuclear deterrence.
- Blocking Further Border Wall Reprogramming: The FY2021 NDAA also finally places limits on the authority President Trump used to take over $10 billion from DOD to build border wall projects (known as 10 U.S.C. 2808). Specifically, limiting the President to $100 million which can be taken from the military for domestic projects. It also continues to prioritize policy improvements to fix the privatized housing crisis for military families.
- In addition to the over $7.8 billion in MILCON projects for multiple states, the FY21 NDAA authorizes $170.4 million for additional projects under the Energy Resilience and Conservation Investment Program and planning & design for future projects; $159 million for additional Child Development Centers; and $25 million for additional planning and design associated with military installation resiliency initiatives.
- Climate Change: The MILCON budget includes $25 million specifically for planning and design for projects to combat the effects of climate change.
