{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.sullivan.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/fy-2025-defense-authorization-includes-28-sullivan-provisions-historic-troop-pay-raise-and-723-million-in-military-projects-for-alaska", "FY 2025 Defense Authorization Includes 28 Sullivan Provisions, Historic Troop Pay Raise & $723 Million in Military Projects for Alaska", "2024-12-18", "2024", "2024-12", "Republican", "Senate", "AK", "Dan Sullivan", "S001198", "www.sullivan.senate.gov", "sullivan", "https://www.sullivan.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases?PageNum_rs=9", "scraper", "WASHINGTON\u2014U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), voted with 84 of his Senate colleagues today to pass the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The $895 billion legislation includes 28 provisions authored by Sen. Sullivan and authorizes more than $723 million in military construction for Alaska.\n\n\u201cThe National Defense Authorization Act is one of the most important bills of the entire year\u2014setting the defense policies and spending levels needed to secure our nation during a very dangerous time, and taking care of our military men and women, and their families,\u201d said Sen. Sullivan. \u201cOne critical element of this bill is a historic, well-deserved 14.5 percent pay raise for service members, which should help our military families weather high inflation and also help address the serious recruiting challenges our military has faced in recent years. The NDAA also includes a suite of provisions I authored aimed at addressing our Navy\u2019s shipbuilding crisis, fixing bureaucratic hurdles in the ship design and procurement process, and deterring further Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific. Importantly, we were also able to increase the number of positions available to the National Guard nationwide, avoiding potential cuts and enabling Alaska\u2019s Air National Guardsmen to continue to focus on fulfilling their wide array of critical missions. Finally, I worked hard to ensure this legislation also continues the significant military build-up taking place in Alaska, the most strategic place in the world. I was able to secure more than $723 million in military construction projects for our state, which is more great news for Alaska, our economy and our workers\u2014but also for our national security.\n\n\u201cWhile there are many positive aspects to highlight in this year\u2019s NDAA, Senator Schumer and House Democratic leaders have demonstrated they do not have the same appreciation for this legislation and its importance to our military. As he does every year, Senator Schumer punted consideration of the NDAA until the very end of the year, prevented senators from debating amendments on the floor, and, along with House Democrats, axed a much-needed $25 billion plus-up crafted in a bipartisan manner by Senators Wicker and Reed. Further, several provisions\u2014including some I authored\u2014that would strengthen the United States\u2019 position relative to the Chinese Communist Party were stripped out in the dark of night, purportedly by House Democratic leaders. These decisions send the wrong message to our adversaries in Beijing and display Democratic leaders\u2019 lack of seriousness on national security issues.\u201d\n\nIn August, the Air National Guard announced an indefinite exemption for the Alaska Air National Guard from the National Guard\u2019s \u201cFulltime Leveling\u201d (FTL) initiative that would have negatively impacted the Alaska National Guard and its critical homeland defense mission. Sens. Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) were able to include a provision in the NDAA adding 649 new Active Guard Reserve Authorizations (AGR) to address this gap in positions.\n\nSen. Sullivan also secured $723.3 million in military construction authorizations for Alaska, including:\n\n$250 million for the Joint Integrated Test and Training Facility at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson (JBER).\n\n$175 million for unaccompanied enlisted personnel housing at Ft. Wainwright.\n\n$120 million for family housing at JBER.\n\n$67 million for a National Guard readiness center at JBER.\n\n$55 million for fuel facilities at JBER.\n\n$23 million for an automated multipurpose machine gun range at Ft. Wainwright.\n\n$19.3 million for a combat rescue helicopter simulator at JBER.\n\n$14 million for a fuels operations and lab facility at Eielson Air Force Base.\n\n*Numbers exclude expected total additional annual authorization of $105 million for the Joint Integrated Test and Training Facility at JBER.\n\nSen. Sullivan\u2019s military, shipbuilding, and defense infrastructure provisions:\n\nInclude portions of Sen. Sullivan\u2019s efforts to expand naval shipbuilding and infrastructure and fix systemic issues with the Navy\u2019s ship design process by:\n\nRequiring the ships to be designed to a mature level before a contract is issued, addressing a significant cause of multiple shipbuilding delays. The shipbuilding industry cannot plan for capital expenditures\u2014new dry docks, cranes, metal forges, etc.\u2014or workforce development when multi-billion-dollar plans change year to year.\n\nImproving the assessments required by the Navy prior to starting construction on the first ship of a shipbuilding program.\n\nRequiring the Navy to brief Congress in the event of a proposed reduction in battle force ships as part of the annual naval vessel construction plan.\n\nProviding an exception to allow limited maintenance for U.S. homeported vessels overseas, expanding shipyard and labor availability to maintain the current fleet and build new ships.\n\nAllowing for advanced procurement across multiple amphibious ship platforms to allow longer lead time for common components before the full contract to build is complete.\n\nMake the Navy-provided senior medical officer of the Marine Corps a flag officer, giving the Marine Corps parity with other services.\n\nRequire the Secretary of Defense to submit an annual report on how the Arctic Strategy will be resourced against other competing priorities in the Indo-Pacific region.\n\nSen. Sullivan\u2019s acquisition-related provisions:\n\nCreate a Middle Tier Acquisition initiative to establish guidance aimed at programs in the two-to-five-year deployment range. This initiative would cover rapid prototyping for innovative technologies and rapid fielding to allow for proven technology to shift to production with minimal development. This will help get companies out of the so-called \u201cvalley of death.\u201d\n\nUpdate the Defense Modernization Account to adopt the recommendations from the Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution Reform Commission. This will help critical, time-sensitive programs develop and procure modern equipment and technology faster.\n\nSen. Sullivan\u2019s foreign policy-related provisions:\n\nProhibit DoD funds from being used to collaborate with People\u2019s Republic of China (PRC) academic institutions on scientific and technological research that could ultimately threaten U.S. defense capabilities and forward deployed forces.\n\nFully fund U.S. military training assistance for Taiwan, strengthening the island democracy\u2019s own capacity to deter Chinese People\u2019s Liberation Army (PLA) aggression.\n\nExtend the availability of security assistance for America\u2019s allies and partners by remedying the time constraints DoD has faced in awarding contracts for necessary weapons systems.\n\nImprove coordination of industrial base cooperation with allies by clarifying roles and authorities at DoD.\n\nStreamline the foreign military sales process by improving the related workforce at DoD, codifying a continuous improvement board overseeing sales, and improving procedures for releasing technology to foreign allies.\n\nRequire the DoD to work with the Secretary of State, the Taiwanese government, and American and Taiwanese industry leaders to identify specific defense capabilities that can be coproduced with Taiwan, addressing a current impasse in getting Taiwan what it needs to defend itself.\n\nThe FY 2025 NDAA passed the House of Representatives on December 11 and now will be sent to the President to be signed into law.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:07:19Z"]], "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.sullivan.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/fy-2025-defense-authorization-includes-28-sullivan-provisions-historic-troop-pay-raise-and-723-million-in-military-projects-for-alaska"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6127589624375105, "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"}