Walz Stands with Troops in Supporting FY2017 Defense Authorization

Mankato, MN [12/2/16] – Today, Congressman Tim Walz (D-MN) voted in support of the FY2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA):

“I am proud to stand with our brave men and women in uniform today by supporting the NDAA Conference Report. Thank you to the House and Senate conferees for the hard work they put into getting this bill done for our military. While not perfect, the agreement we passed in the House this afternoon provides our Servicemembers with the tools they need to continue to defend our freedom from ever-evolving threats across the globe. I am pleased a number of the measures I championed that put our troops and their families first were included in the final version.”

Below is a list of several Walz provisions included in the bill:

Energy Independence

• Blocks a proposal to prohibit DoD from buying biofuels in a USDA program. 

Readiness:

• Includes the Walz /Gibson Posture Act which freezes the Army and Marine Corps drawdown to ensure Army readiness to keep America safe at home and abroad.
• Honors the service of military technicians and expresses that further cuts to those techs would have adverse impacts on readiness.
• Includes an authorization for transferring funds to other agencies to advance counterterrorism efforts across the globe.

Military Personnel and Families

• Provides a 2.1% pay raise for our troops
• Requires representation from enlisted or retired enlisted members of the armed forces on all boards, panels, commissions, or task forces making recommendations related to military personnel policy
• Includes full funding for Special Operations Preservation of the Force and Family aimed at addressing the pressures put on our Special Operations Forces warriors and their families and how we can improve their lives.
• Adds $20 million for the STARBASE program, which supports military STEM education for at risk youth.
• Reforms the commissary system to preserve the benefit, while also making improvements to ensure continued savings for shoppers, a good value for taxpayers, and ongoing support for morale, welfare, and recreational activities.
• Gives former Servicemembers with post-traumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury (related to the combat or military sexual trauma they experienced) a path for discharge upgrades to help them receive the benefits they earned.

California Guard Bonuses

• Directs DOD to complete a review of all California Guard members who were impacted by the California Guard Bonus scandal. Creates tools to begin resolving this issue by providing authorities to alleviate any financial hardship for California Guardsmen who were unaware they were erroneously paid bonuses from 2004 to 2010.

Military Training

• Ensures that Army Special Forces soldiers get military free fall training to improve safety and effectiveness as they access remote area.
• Includes an Army report on how to optimize training to address real situations soldiers may face in combat, as well as additional funding for combat training centers.

National Guard and Reserves

• Increases funding to the Army National Guard.
• Extends TRICARE program coverage for certain members of the National Guard and dependents during certain disaster response duty.
• Asserts Sense of Congress on cyber resiliency of the networks and communications systems of the National Guard.
• Eliminates barriers facing members of the National Guard and Reserves living in rural areas of the country by removing cost-prohibitive factors in the National Guard and Reserves by reforming an arbitrary $300 reimbursement cap for members traveling to training exercises and activities.
• Extends removal of restrictions on the transfer of officers between the active and inactive National Guard.

Foreign Relations

• Provides $3.4 billion for the European Reassurance Initiative to bolster relationships with European allies and partners and to deter Russian aggression.

Veterans’ Employment

• Does not include language limiting the use of veterans’ preference in hiring for federal civilian employment, but does require the secretaries of Defense, Labor, and Veterans Affairs to coordinate a report on how the current process works and the impacts of preferential hiring on veterans and non-veterans.

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