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House Passes National Defense Authorization Act

September 23, 2021

Washington, D.C. – Today, the United States House of Representatives passed H.R.4350, the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, with the support of Congressman Doug Lamborn. The bill will fund the Department of Defense with a topline of $778 billion (including nuclear activities at the Department of Energy) throughout FY22. Upon passage, Congressman Lamborn issued the following statement:

"This bill will provide our warfighters in harm's way with the resources they need to deter conflict or win it decisively if deterrence fails. That said, there are many provisions conservatives will find troubling, and I am dedicated to removing them in Conference Committee with the Senate. As President Biden's reckless and nonsensical foreign policy blunders sow chaos abroad and endanger American interests, this legislation strengthens our military readiness. It also continues the Department's much-needed modernization efforts to deter or defeat our increasingly aggressive near-peer competitors. Although I strongly disagree with several provisions in this bill, I could not vote against legislation that is vital to the needs of the Fifth Congressional District and our armed forces. For this reason, I was pleased to vote YES for the NDAA."

Congressman Lamborn was able to secure over 40 provisions in the base text of the bill, and added an additional 16 provisions as amendments during the committee markup and on the House Floor.

This bill:
-Prohibits U.S. Space Command from moving locations until reviews of the basing decision by the Government Accountability Office and DOD Investigator General's Office are completed;
-Creates a Space National Guard (Colorado has the most Guardsmen conducting space missions of any state in the Union);
-Reverses the reckless defense budget proposed by the Biden administration which did not even keep up with inflation by adding $25 billion to the topline to fully fund the majority of the Services' and Combatant Commanders' Unfunded Priority Lists;
-Authorizes a 2.7% pay increase for service members;
-Begins holding the Biden administration accountable for their Afghanistan withdrawal fiasco (over 20 provisions on Afghanistan accountability);
-Provides over $300 million for collaborative U.S./Israel missile defense programs;
-Establishes administrative, medical, or religious exemptions to the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine for members of the Armed Forces, including antibody tests;
-Prohibits labeling service men and women "extremists" for their conservative political beliefs and disciplined for their online/social media activity;
-Provides over $34 million for military construction projects in the district, including a vehicle maintenance facility for U.S. Air Force Academy and a fitness center on Schriever Space Force Base;
-Requires the Army to produce a plan for demilitarizing the Pueblo Chemical Depot and responsibly returning it to the community;
-Develops a plan to identify the remains of the remaining unidentified servicemen who perished on the USS Arizona;
-Enhances DOD use of commercial satellite imaging;
-Directs the Chief of Space Operations to develop a long-term plan for maintaining American space dominance over the next ten years, including what new capabilities are needed to compete against Russia and China in space successfully;
-Requires USSF to develop a plan to establish propellant reserves in outer-space to dramatically enhance the capabilities of our space assets;
-Expands and increases the capacity of the satellite control network through public/private partnerships;
-Amends the bylaws of the Board of Visitors of each of the three military service academies to allow the members to call a meeting at any time in response to the Biden administration illegally suspending BOV meetings and firing the Trump appointees;
-Fully funds the nuclear triad modernization;
-Fully funds the defense of Guam;
-Authorizes $6.2 billion for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative to deter China;
-Calls for a report on how to mitigate space debris;
-Strengthens and maintains the Missile Defense Agency's unique acquisition authorities.

Contact: Cassandra Sebastian (719) 520-0055