The U.S. Senate passed its version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on Thursday. It had the support of U.S. Senator James Lankford.
“National defense is an essential responsibility of the federal government. Today the Senate passed the 63rd annual defense bill, which makes it clear to our adversaries that the United States of America will remain strong. This bill prioritizes military readiness in Oklahoma and around the nation, recognizes the need to stop our reliance on communist China for critical minerals, provides military spouses career opportunities, and even increases overtime pay for our border law enforcement. We honor our commitment to our warfighters and their families and ensure they have what they need for their missions.
“The bill I supported today provides an important pay raise for our military and Guard members. I helped secure provisions in the bill for improvements to our procurement processes, necessary changes for contracting, and increased attention to base housing repair and upkeep. I even secured provisions to help address the tremendous backlog of passports at the Department of State. I look forward to finalizing the vital defense bill with our colleagues in the House by early this fall,” said Lankford.
The Senate version of the NDAA has funding for projects at all five military installations in Oklahoma, as well as additional funding for the Oklahoma National Guard.
The U.S. House passed its version of the NDAA. Both Chambers will now negotiated to reconcile both pieces of legislation.
