{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.ricketts.senate.gov/news/press-releases/ricketts-celebrates-signing-of-defense-bill-into-law/", "Ricketts Celebrates Signing of Defense Bill into Law", "2025-12-18", "2025", "2025-12", "Republican", "Senate", "NE", "Pete Ricketts", "R000618", "www.ricketts.senate.gov", "ricketts", "https://www.ricketts.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/?jsf=jet-engine:press-list&pagenum=", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) recognized President Trump\u2019s signing of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law. The NDAA authorizes funding levels and authorities for the U.S. military. This ensures American forces have the tools they need to carry out their missions.\n\n\u201cThe United States must deter Communist China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea,\u201d said Senator Ricketts. \u201cBy restoring peace through strength, this NDAA will help us deter our adversaries and keep Americans safe. The NDAA also delivers for Nebraska. It authorizes key funding to provide our servicemembers with the capabilities needed to keep Nebraskans safe. I appreciate Senator Deb Fischer and Congressman Don Bacon\u2019s leadership on the Armed Services Committees. Together, we\u2019re ensuring our military has what it needs to defend us.\u201d\n\nNebraska-Specific Wins:\n\nRequires the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program to begin being fielded by Sept. 30, 2033;\n\nAuthorizes $11 million to support the Nuclear Command, Control, Communications (NC3) Network Sensor Demonstration at Offutt Air Force Base;\n\nAuthorizes $15 million to support the innovative NC3 Rapid Engineering Architecture Collaboration Hub program, or REACH, at Offutt Air Force Base;\n\nAuthorizes $40 million for the design of hangars and other facilities for the Survivable Airborne Operation Center (SAOC), which will replace the aging E-4B Nightwatch planes at Offutt Air Force Base;\n\nCodifies a requirement for deep cleaning of ICBM launch control centers every five years;\n\nDesignates STRATCOM\u2019s Joint Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations (JEMSO) office as the lead entity for coordinating testing and evaluation of joint employment of Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) technologies;\n\nDirects a report on the 557th Weather Wing\u2019s cloud migration, AI readiness, and infrastructure modernization roadmap;\n\nCodifies the 557th Weather Wing\u2019s authorities to provide meteorological and environmental services to the Intelligence Community;\n\nRequires CFIUS to report on real estate transactions of national security threats, which helps to target Communist China\u2019s malign activities in the U.S. and near critical military sites across the nation.\n\nWins in the NDAA:\n\nAuthorizes $900.6 billion for national defense next year;\n\nGives a 3.8% pay raise to our servicemembers;\n\nAuthorizes over $4 billion in funding for modernizing our nuclear triad, including the Sentinel ICBM program;\n\nIncludes the Ricketts-sponsored AUKUS Improvement Act, which streamlines defense industrial base collaboration and co-production between the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom;\n\nIncludes the Ricketts-supported COUNTER Act, which combats Communist China\u2019s attempts to strengthen its global reach through military expansion;\n\nIncluded in the NDAA joint explanatory statement are elements of Senator Ricketts\u2019 THINK TWICE Act, including a requirement for a strategy and report on arms sales of the People\u2019s Republic of China.\n\nRicketts\u2019AUKUS Improvement Act:", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "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://www.ricketts.senate.gov/news/press-releases/ricketts-celebrates-signing-of-defense-bill-into-law/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7461979985237122, "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"}