WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Thursday, U.S. Congressman Mike Waltz (FL-6), Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness, issued the following statement in support of the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, which includes many of his national security priorities to invest in U.S-flag shipping, shipbuilding, and the maritime workforce needed to reassert America’s maritime power against the Chinese Communist Party, support our Gold Star families, bolster our military assets in space, and improve the quality of life for our service members and their families.
“I’m proud to join to support this defense bill that will ensure the U.S. military remains the strongest fighting force in the world and modernize our armed forces to compete with current and emerging threats,” said Rep. Waltz. “It’s critical we continue to support our service members, and their families, who have answered the call of duty and provide our warfighters with training, equipment, and support they need to protect our great nation.”
“Military readiness is the foundation of our national defense,” Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) said. “As Chairman of the Subcommittee on Readiness, Rep. Waltz has continued to be a strong advocate for ensuring our military remains ready and capable. Thanks to Rep. Waltz’s leadership, the FY25 NDAA strengthens our military and invests in vital naval capabilities.”
The Committee included Rep. Waltz’s language:
Prohibiting retirement accounts of service members from being invested in Chinese military companies;
Establishing a grant program between American universities and non-profit institutions working with Israeli schools researching, diagnosing, and treating post-traumatic stress disorder;
Reforming the Board of Visitors for the Service Academies to be more accountable to Congress;
Allowing the children of our fallen soldiers to continue to have commissary access beyond the age of 21;
Calling for 4,000 JROTC programs by 2031;
Calling on the Department to honor its pension commitment to older specialized recruits;
Require an assessment of Joint Multi-Domain Electronic Warfare Platforms;
Expanding resiliency planning to include Coast Guard stations;
Ensuring battery-electric ground vehicle systems integrate additive nanotechnology to mitigate lithium battery fires and improve soldier survivability;
Require a strategy of “de-risking,” aimed at mitigating reliance and vulnerability to Chinese shipbuilding, shipping, and maritime infrastructure;
Update the 1989 National Security Directive 28, articulating a policy and vision for Strategic Sealift readiness and the requirement for an independent and competitive maritime sector as national power vital to America’s national security
Establish a national recruiting campaign contracted by the Maritime Administration, and several workforce initiatives to draw attention to the nation’s maritime workforce as national security workers;
Requiring a market survey of domestic suppliers of sand and gravel for marine concrete;
A briefing on the Air Force’s efforts to develop the Combat Simulator of the Future;
Clarifying that the funding increases for facilities sustainment must be used to ensure quality of life initiatives;
Developing space assets for rapid delivery of equipment and supplies in battle-zones;
Ensuring American taxpayers get the best value for spare parts;
Setting new contracting goals for veteran-owned small businesses and authorizing the use of restricted competition in awarding contracts to veterans.
Chairman’s Mark:
$28.45M in MILCON
$11.4M to install wastewater main at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
$6.87M to design a Child Development center at Naval Air Station JAX
$10.18M to design communications center and infrastructure upgrades at Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island Command
$390M in Funding Priorities:
$25M over PB for additional Sonobuoys
$335.5M for Armed overwatch
$30M for Tactically Responsible Space
JROTC
$1M to expand Air Force JROTC programs.
Lowering the threshold for students for a JROTC program to remain viable.
Navy Re-Arm at Sea: Requiring a strategy for delivering a rearm at sea capability to the U.S. Navy surface fleet.
Commercial Dual Use Aviation Products: Requires DoD to implement a process for using FAA certified commercial dual use products, including new products.
Transportation of Remains: Requires DoD pay, instead of reimbursing families for the cost, to transport the remains of a fallen servicemember to a national cemetery.
Nation Defense Stockpile: Requires procurement from domestic sources to the maximum extent practicable for NDS materials; requires DoD to develop a plan to restock the NDS for a sustained national emergency.
Unutilized Military Infrastructure: Requires strategy for demolition of unutilized facilities on military installation, which are continuing to exert utility costs on the Department.
Report LanguageOn:
Non-Program of Record contracting processes for AUKUS Pillar II Innovations
Global Household Goods contract services
Commercial off the shelf solutions for finding foreign control with the Defense Industrial Base
Airborne Augmented Reality for Navy Pilot Training
Commercial satellite support for COCOMs
UAS interoperability and compliance with NATO standards
