{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://pettersen.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=507", "Pettersen Votes to Pass Bipartisan Defense Bill Including Military Family Support, Servicemember Pay Increase", "2023-12-14", "2023", "2023-12", "Democrat", "House", "CO", "Brittany Pettersen", "P000620", "pettersen.house.gov", "pettersen", "https://pettersen.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=27", "scraper", "WASHINGTON\u2014U.S. Representative Brittany Pettersen (CO-07) today voted to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024. This bill funds defense and related programs and is one of the largest pieces of legislation that Congress passes each year. This version of the bill includes a 5.2% pay raise for servicemembers and supports for Ukraine and other international allies, as well as investments in military family housing, child development centers, and basic needs for those servicemembers and families who need support.\n\n\u201cTo meet the defense challenges of tomorrow, we must invest in the people, programs, and technologies protecting America and our allies today,\u201d said Pettersen, Vice Ranking Member of the Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions. \u201cThis bipartisan bill will allow us to better support the brave servicemembers and their families who selflessly risk everything to protect us, with provisions to expand access to housing and child care. Meeting the basic needs of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and guardians is essential for our military readiness and the security of our nation.\u201d\n\nThis year\u2019s NDAA includes provisions to:\n\nInvest in service members, the civilian workforce, and military families by:\n\nSupporting the 5.2% pay raise proposed in the President\u2019s budget request\n\nExpanding eligibility for the Basic Needs Allowance, a key program that provides funds for food, housing, etc. for military families experiencing financial hardship\n\nMaking significant investments in military family housing, child development centers, and replacing failing unaccompanied housing (barracks)\n\nImproving family leave eligibility for civilian employees\n\nReaffirms our commitment to partners and allies by:\n\nEnabling key pillars of AUKUS, the critical security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States that shores up information sharing and the integration of security and defense-related science, technology, industrial bases, and supply chains\n\nReauthorizing the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI)\n\nFully resourcing the European Deterrence Initiative and Pacific Deterrence Initiatives\n\nAuthorizes a record high investment of $150 million for Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)\n\nProvides $650 million worth of investments in energy resilience and energy conservation projects\n\nIncreases oversight of equipment provided to foreign countries by requiring the GAO to provide reports on how equipment use is monitored\n\nIncreases oversight of ex-gratia payments, the authority that requires the U.S. to make payments for damage, personal injury, or death to a civilian that is inadvertently caused by the U.S. or a coalition or military organization supporting the U.S.\n\nClick here for the full text of the bill.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T01:14:16Z"]], "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://pettersen.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=507"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 7.876425050199032, "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"}