Austin News

U.S. Senator John Cornyn has expressed his support for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2025, which recently passed in the Senate. The legislation aims to enhance national security and bolster military readiness amid evolving global threats.

Senator Cornyn stated, "As the global threat landscape continues to evolve and grow increasingly dangerous, America must take strategic steps to bolster our military readiness and deter foreign adversaries." He emphasized that the bill would strengthen national security, support service members, and restore trust among allies while deterring enemies.

The bill includes several pieces of legislation introduced by Senator Cornyn:

- The Enable IC Partnerships Act encourages partnerships with the Intelligence Community to streamline technology acquisitions.

- The Project Safe Childhood Act aims to improve investigations into online child exploitation.

- The Protecting Investments in our Ports Act mandates secure digital infrastructure purchases for grant applicants.

- The EQUIP Act allows funding from the Defense Modernization Fund for integrating commercial technologies.

- The CAPTURE Act permits alternative analyses for fair pricing of defense products by nontraditional contractors.

- The SPEAR Act focuses on securing the domestic supply chain of solid rocket motors.

- The STOP Enemies Act updates military justice codes against providing tactical advice to adversaries.

- The Private Smither Act requires health care provider affiliations in medical records.

Additionally, Texas-specific provisions include a 4.5% pay raise for troops and authorization of $590.7 million for military construction projects across Texas. These projects encompass developments at Fort Bliss, Fort Cavazos, Red River Army Depot, Dyess Air Force Base, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Laughlin Air Force Base, Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, and Lackland Air Force Base.

The act also authorizes $1.25 billion for Future Long Range Assault Aircraft development and supports maintaining air superiority through resources allocated to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter fleet produced in Fort Worth. Furthermore, it includes initiatives aimed at job creation across various industries in Texas and expands childcare access for military families while supporting employment programs for military spouses.