{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.wicker.senate.gov/2023/8/wicker-celebrates-defense-bill-passage-with-visit-to-mississippi-base", "Wicker Celebrates Defense Bill Passage with Visit to Mississippi Base", "2023-08-10", "2023", "2023-08", "Republican", "Senate", "MS", "Roger F. Wicker", "W000437", "www.wicker.senate.gov", "wicker", "https://www.wicker.senate.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "JACKSON, MISS. \u2013 U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., today released a new video highlighting his work on the annual National Defense Authorization Act, which recently passed the U.S. Senate. The video features the senator\u2019s visit to the Mississippi Air National Guard\u2019s 172nd Airlift Wing, which is based in Jackson.\n\nDuring his visit, the senator highlighted a 5.2% pay raise for service members and funding for the tools and capabilities necessary to support the military.\n\nThe senator has been a strong advocate for increased military funding in his role as ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.\n\nSee below for a full transcript of the video. Soundtrack-free video and B-roll is also available for download here. For more information on this year\u2019s National Defense Authorization Act and its expected impact on Mississippi, click here.\n\nTRANSCRIPT:\n\nNEWS ANCHOR: The National Defense Authorization Act passed in the Senate. The NDAA authorizes ten new Navy ships and provides a 5.2% pay hike for military personnel.\n\nSENATOR WICKER: This is my first meeting with actual servicemen and women since the passage in the Senate the other day of the National Defense Authorization Act.\n\nIt's a great chance for me to be back in Mississippi and to talk to the actual people who step forward to join the military and our all-volunteer force and agree to put themselves in harm's way.\n\nThis is the sort of thing that we need more of and the sort of thing that we try to provide funds for.\n\nIt is part of our peace through strength effort worldwide. We have more support for the Air National Guard in the NDAA bill. Those of us on my side of the aisle are making the case that we're really not where we need to be in terms of aircraft, ships, amphibious ships, submarines.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T00:30:18Z"]], "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.wicker.senate.gov/2023/8/wicker-celebrates-defense-bill-passage-with-visit-to-mississippi-base"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.335752196609974, "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"}