WASHINGTON D.C.
Readiness Chairman Garamendi votes to pass National Defense Authorization Act in the House
This week, Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA), Chairman of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness, voted to pass the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in the House of Representatives. The bill passed the House by a bipartisan vote of 295-125 and will now be conferenced with the Senate’s version of the bill.
“This legislation comes at a critical moment for our nation as we grapple with a once-in-a-century global pandemic. This NDAA provides the resources necessary for our military to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and help prevent the spread of this highly transmittable and deadly virus.”
Garamendi secured the following provisions in the House-passed bill:
Building a National Fleet
Through Rep. Garamendi’s advocacy, the FY 2021 NDAA includes several provisions, that together, establish a National Maritime Logistics Fleet to bolster America’s maritime sector. This is accomplished by strengthening US-flagged vessel requirements for the transportation of military cargo and fuels, creating a Tanker Security Program to address the shortfall in US-flagged, US-crewed tankers, and requiring the Navy to initiate an affordable, domestic built sealift ship.
Supporting the Mission at Beale Air Force Base
Garamendi supported a $22.8 million funding request from Beale Air Force Base to construct a new fuel storage tank. The project will construct a new 10,000-barrel jet fuel (JP-8) tank, a transfer pump house with 600 gallon per minute (GPM) pumps and filter separators, two tank truck off-loading stations, and significantly modify the existing truck fill stand.
Ending China’s Chokehold on the Pharmaceutical Industry
Language from Garamendi and Rep. Vicky Hartzler’s (R-MO) bipartisan “Pharmaceutical Independence Long-Term Readiness Reform Act” (H.R. 4710) was included in the legislation. The provision requires the Department of Defense to identify the vulnerabilities faced by our country’s dependence on Chinese pharmaceuticals and the steps needed to secure the supply chain.
Supporting Local Infrastructure
Garamendi worked with Congressman Jerry McNerney (D-CA) to include an amendment in the NDAA that will transfer a decommissioned Sharpe Army Depot to the Port of Stockton to support California’s economic and infrastructure needs at no cost to the taxpayer.
Strengthening Health Care for Service Members and Veterans
Garamendi’s “Occupational and Environmental Transparency Health (OATH) Act (H.R. 2617) to require the DoD and VA to retroactively update health records based on information contained in the Burn Pit Registry was included in the bill. Currently, active duty members and veterans are unable to make disability claims with the Veterans Administration based on exposure to toxic hazards such as mold, chemicals, and open-air burn pits because those exposures are not tracked in their medical records. Garamendi’s “OATH Act” will change that and provide our nation’s service members with the support they deserve.
Tracking and Fighting Wildfires
Rep. Garamendi successfully added an amendment to the NDAA that requires the Department of Defense to expedite review of requests for the use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems by the National Guard to conduct life-saving fire, disaster and emergency search and rescue operations.
Bolstering the U.S. Industrial Base
Rep. Garamendi passed an amendment that expands the list of auxiliary ship components to be manufactured in the National Technology and Industrial Base, which will help sustain the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base.
—Submitted
