December 08, 2022

Rep. Sara Jacobs Secures Key Wins in NDAA to Prevent Civilian Casualties, Support Service Members and Military Families, and Strengthen Human Rights, Votes Yes

Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (CA-53) voted to pass the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the Fiscal Year 2023 (H.Res. 1512) after securing key wins to prevent and ensure transparency of civilian harm, support service members and military families, further transparency of human rights vetting and the Department of Defense’s purchasing of Americans’ location data, support our diplomatic corps, and more.


Congresswoman Sara Jacobs said:

 

“The strength of our national security shouldn’t be measured by aircraft carriers and F-35s. It should focus on improving the quality of life of our service members and military families and ensuring that our policies actually reflect our values and further our priorities. So while I’m disappointed that we’re supporting yet another bloated defense budget far beyond what’s necessary, I’m proud to have secured key provisions that will reduce and ensure transparency of civilian harm, support the incredibly important work of our diplomatic corps, further transparency of human rights vetting, strengthen digital privacy, increase the basic needs allowance and child care support for service members and military families, and more.


“Taking care of our service members and military families is one of the best investments we can make in our national security. By increasing the basic needs allowance for junior enlistees and providing more child care support, we will boost morale, readiness, and recruitment. Thanks to Congresswoman Jackie Speier’s tireless, career-long advocacy, sexual harassment will be removed from the military chain of command to protect survivors. We also need to give our diplomatic corps the support they need. With the inclusion of my Diplomatic Support and Security Act, we can ensure our diplomatic corps can go beyond the wires and walls of our embassies in capital cities and get out into the communities so they can effectively engage with civil society, get better information, and act proactively to prevent and reduce conflict and enhance global cooperation.


“All of our policies should reflect our values so we maintain our credibility and reputation here at home and around the world. That’s why I’m especially proud that I secured several provisions to prevent and ensure transparency of civilian harm that undermine our status as human rights defenders and give our enemies a powerful recruiting tool. It’s important for our allies and military partners to live up to our standards too, but loopholes in Leahy Law like the Section 127e programs have enabled U.S. security assistance to support foreign partners who commit unconscionable human rights violations. That’s why we took an important step forward in requiring more transparency from the Pentagon about the Section 127e programs that have been cloaked in secrecy, and I’ll keep working until human rights vetting is applied universally to all security programs. And finally, the Pentagon will have to report its purchases of Americans’ data – a critical step to understanding the scope and severity of this issue so we can tackle it.”


Congresswoman Sara Jacobs secured the following provisions in the NDAA:

  • Reducing and ensuring transparency of civilian harm:

    • Requires creating and operating a Civilian Protection Center of Excellence to centralize, standardize, and improve policies regarding civilian harm mitigation in the DoD’s operations and activities.

    • Requires greater specificity regarding the geographic location of strikes resulting in civilian casualties and information regarding the specific authority used to undertake such strikes in annual reporting to Congress.

    • Mandates that the newly formed Center for Excellence in Civilian Harm Mitigation contract with a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) to independently report on how the DoD distinguishes between civilians and combatants in military operations.

    • Authorizes $25 million for implementing the Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response Action Plan (CHMR-AP) and requires a briefing on future manpower and resourcing.

    • Extends, for a decade, a global ex-gratia authority that requires the United States to make payments for damage, personal injury, or death to a civilian that is inadvertently caused by the use of force by the U.S. Armed Forces, a coalition including the United States, or a military organization supporting the United States.

  • Supporting the work and security of our diplomatic corps:

    • Includes language of Rep. Sara Jacobs’ Diplomatic Support and Security Act to encourage expeditionary diplomacy and correct risk aversion at the State Department by reforming the Accountability Review Boards process, creating an “Expeditionary Diplomacy Award,” requiring a strategy on training for risk management, and amending promotion requirements for State Department employees that include effective risk management practices and meaningful engagement with civil society.  

  • Furthering transparency on human rights vetting:

    • Requires the Department of Defense to review and update its written guidance on the use of the Section 127e authority, including vetting of recipients for human rights, counterintelligence, and force protection purposes – a step forward in ensuring U.S. security assistance does not go to human rights violators. 

  • Supporting service members and military families:

    • Increases the basic needs allowance for junior enlisted from 130% of the poverty line to 150% to help ensure that our service members and military families can afford their basic needs.

    • Invests in child care center maintenance – requiring the military services to invest at least 1% of the replacement cost of facilities sustainment, restoration, and modernization for child development centers.

    • Requires the Department of Defense to conduct regional pay studies to examine differences in compensation between CDC staff and similarly credentialed employees in the geographic area.

    • Promotes child care fee assistance – requiring the military services to implement a promotion campaign to raise awareness of child care fee assistance options, including the in-home child care fee assistance pilot program that helps service members hire nannies and other in-home child care providers.

  • Strengthening transparency of DoD’s Purchases of Americans’ Location Data

    • Requires the Department of Defense to disclose to Congress about any purchases of Americans’ location data for which a warrant would ordinarily be required in order to preserve and protect digital privacy and civil liberties.