{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://vasquez.house.gov/media/press-releases/us-senate-advances-vasquezs-priorities-new-mexico-national-defense-bill", "U.S. Senate Advances Vasquez\u2019s Priorities for New Mexico in National Defense Bill, including $2.25 Billion for New Mexico", "2023-07-28", "2023", "2023-07", "Democrat", "House", "NM", "Gabe Vasquez", "V000136", "vasquez.house.gov", "vasquez", "https://vasquez.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 On July 27, 2023, Representative Gabe Vasquez\u2019s (NM-02) priorities for New Mexico in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) were passed by the U.S. Senate. Vasquez, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, has been working to craft a bill that brings direct results to New Mexico since the start of this Congress.\n\nFollowing the passage of the House version of the NDAA, Vasquez led a letter to the Senate urging Senators to remove the hateful, anti-choice and discriminatory amendments that were included by House Republicans in the final hour. In concurrence with Vasquez\u2019s letter, the Senate version of the NDAA now excludes the hateful, discriminatory amendments.\n\n\u201cAfter calling on the Senate to exclude House Republicans\u2019 toxic, anti-choice and discriminatory provisions, I am proud to see that the Senate\u2019s NDAA bill does not include those provisions. As a freshman member of Congress, my top priority is delivering for the second district, standing up for New Mexico\u2019s values, while at the same time delivering on legislation like the NDAA that brings good-paying jobs to New Mexico,\u201d said Vasquez. \u201cI\u2019m committed to working through this process, all the way through to the President\u2019s desk so that the wins I secured for New Mexico remain intact, while also ensuring access to reproductive health care and supporting our LGBTQ+ service members.\u201d\n\nFollowing the passage of bills from both the House and Senate, the NDAA will now be negotiated between the House and Senate to produce a final bill. Vasquez will continue to work with House and Senate leadership to ensure the House Republicans\u2019 egregious provisions are not included in the final defense bill.\n\nVasquez secured many provisions in the House version of the bipartisan FY24 NDAA, including the largest pay raise for service members in the last decade, addressing per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination in drinking water around military installations, expanding military base\u2019s child care programs, improving housing for service members and more.\n\nVasquez helped deliver investments in innovation, security, research and quality-of-life improvements for servicemen and women that will support New Mexican communities. The NDAA authorizes over $2.25 billion for New Mexican laboratories and military installations, including:\n\nHolloman Air Force Base\u2019s MQ-9 Flight Training Unit\n\nWhite Sands Missile Range\u2019s High Energy Laser Systems Test Facility\n\nWhite Sands Missile Range\u2019s hypersonic target development\n\nLos Alamos National Laboratory\u2019s Protective Force Facility\n\nLos Alamos National Laboratory\u2019s Plutonium Protection Building\n\nLos Alamos National Laboratory Research and Development\n\nSandia and Los Alamos National Laboratory\u2019s environmental cleanup\n\nArmy National Guard Rio Rancho Training Site\n\nCannon Air Force Base\u2019s new satellite fire station\n\nKirtland Air Force Base\u2019s Wyoming Gate Upgrade for Anti-Terrorism Compliance\n\nDepartment of Defense\u2019s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program, for installations such as White Sands Missile Range and Cannon Air Force Base.\n\n***\n\nBACKGROUND\n\nAs a Member of the House Armed Services Committee, Vasquez played a key role in drafting the bipartisan FY24 NDAA. Vasquez not only represents the military installations in his district, but as the only delegation member serving on an armed services committee, he also represents the military interests of New Mexico at large. The committee held a comprehensive debate before moving the bill to the House floor for consideration. The final House bill included provisions Vasquez authored, such as quality-of-life improvements for service members, clean water, energy resiliency on military installations, and support for missions that provide quality jobs for New Mexicans.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T00:18:03Z"]], "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://vasquez.house.gov/media/press-releases/us-senate-advances-vasquezs-priorities-new-mexico-national-defense-bill"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.1335709132254124, "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"}