{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://austinscott.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/president-trump-signs-national-defense-authorization-act", "President Trump Signs National Defense Authorization Act", "2017-12-12", "2017", "2017-12", "Republican", "House", "GA", "Austin Scott", "S001189", "austinscott.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, Congressman Austin Scott (GA-08) released the following statement upon President Trump signing the Fiscal Year 2018 National Defense Authorization Act:\n\u201cToday, President Trump and Congress continued their commitment to our Armed Forces by authorizing critical funding for our troops to address our readiness crisis, confront aggression, address threats, rebuild our military, protect force structure, and provide for our military families,\u201d said Rep. Scott. \u201cOne of the most important responsibilities as a Member of Congress is providing for our men and women in uniform. I am proud to have worked on this piece of legislation, and we are ready to begin work on the FY2019 NDAA.\u201d \nIn addition to providing new resources to address troop and infrastructure readiness, this bill also continues Congress\u2019 commitment to our warfighters and their families including\u00a0fully funding a 2.4% pay raise for our warfighters and permanently preserving the Special Survivor Indemnity Allowance (SSIA) payments to surviving military spouses, among other things.\nAs the only Republican from Georgia on the House Armed Services Committee and a negotiator to the House-Senate Conference Committee, Congressman Scott was instrumental in fighting on behalf of Georgia\u2019s military installations during the Committee\u2019s markup of the NDAA.\nPROVIDING FOR CURRENT AND FUTURE JSTARS NEEDS AT ROBINS:\nThe E\u20138C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) is a joint Air Force and Army program that provides critical airborne surveillance, intelligence, and command and control to our military through on-board radar and computer subsystems equipment that gathers and distributes detailed battlefield information. Combatant commanders utilize the JSTARS fleet around the world, and it is based at Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins.\nJSTARS\u2019 mission is enabled by leveraging its extremely capable active radar system providing invaluable moving target indicator (MTI) intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance targeting information to multiple users both on the ground and in airborne attack platforms. The demand for MTI capability within each geographic combatant commander\u2019s area of responsibility far exceeds what JSTARS can currently provide due to the limited size of the legacy fleet and overburdened crew resources.\nRep. Scott was able to\u00a0secure $417 million for the JSTARS Recapitalization program and $36.9 million for the current legacy fleet\u00a0of 16 E-8C to make critical equipment upgrades to maintain viability until the current fleet is replaced by the Recapitalization program beginning in the late 2020s.\u00a0\nSECURING FUNDS FOR A-10C REWINGING AT MOODY:\nAdditionally in today\u2019s legislation, the A-10C Wing fleet is set to receive $103 million in funds for re-winging, which Moody Air Force Base will benefit from to keep A-10s flying in the fight against ISIS.\nREBUILDING OUR NATION\u2019S FORCE STRUCTURE AND INFRASTRUCTURE:\nThe 2018 NDAA also addresses force structure concerns by\u00a0increasing the size of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Army Guard and Reserve, Naval and Air Reserve, as well as Air Guard. It also dedicates $1.9 billion for facilities maintenance and $4.4 billion to strengthen missile defense, better equip ground forces, bolster aviation readiness, and address critical munitions shortage.\nIt also makes major reforms in Pentagon buying practices including e-commerce, defense contract auditing, and increased oversight into service contracts.\nOTHER PROVISIONS REP. SCOTT SECURED IN FY18 NDAA:\nRep. Scott was also able to include provisions in the final bill to:\n Create a Reserve Officers\u2019 Training Corps (ROTC)\u00a0Cyber Institute to address the Air Force and Department of Defense\u2019s needs to train and recruit individuals into the fields of cyber security and cyber defense, including at the University of North Georgia in Dahlonega;\n\tSupport the modernization of the U.S. Army\u2019s small arms acquisitions and capabilities by directing the Secretary of the Army to conduct and present to HASC a briefing on the advisability and feasibility of developing a small arms acquisition process, in particular for free-float rail systems for service rifles; and\n\tAddress the disparity between combat pilot training\u00a0and the lack of budgetary and programmatic attention to address it.\n Click here to read more about the FY2018 NDAA.\n-30-", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://austinscott.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/president-trump-signs-national-defense-authorization-act"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.7639158759266138, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}