Statement from Congresswoman Sara Jacobs on National Defense Authorization Act
Washington, D.C. - Today, the House passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (S. 1605).
The legislation included key wins for servicemembers and military families championed by Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (D-CA-53) through her work on the House Armed Services Committee, including expanded access to child care, improved benefits for low-income servicemembers, important improvements to the military’s handling of sexual assault cases, including removing key aspects of these cases from the chain of command, and authorizing the Department of State for the first time in decades.
In October, Congresswoman Jacobs introduced the bipartisan Ending Veteran Homelessness Act, legislation to study the effectiveness of the Shallow Subsidy rental assistance program for veterans and to provide Congress with the data necessary to permanently expand the program.
Congresswoman Jacobs releases the following statement:
“San Diego is a proud military community and I am honored to fight for servicemembers and veterans in Congress. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I worked with my colleagues for months to make sure that the National Defense Authorization Act addressed key issues facing servicemembers and military families.
“I am proud that this bill expands access to child care for military families, strengthens parental leave, improves financial security of low-income military members, protects military communities from PFAS chemicals and strengthens health care coverage, including mental health care and reproductive care. Importantly this bill takes important first steps to reform and improve the military’s handling of sexual assault, starting with removing cases from the chain of command.
“It is especially noteworthy that the NDAA includes the Department of State Authorization Act. This is the first time in nearly two decades that Congress has passed a State Authorization, which is a key step in reforming State and reprioritizing diplomacy in our foreign policy portfolio. It is long past time that we recognize that there is not a military solution for every problem.
“However, despite these considerable achievements, I cannot support the final version of this bill that came out of the Senate. My constituents sent me here to support a balanced and responsible Pentagon budget. Yet, the overall size of the bill was increased, over and above what the Pentagon themselves requested. This represents the same failed approach that we have kept trying with the same result.
“For so long, we have asked so much of our military families, and even as our defense budgets have grown, we still have servicemembers needing nutrition assistance, long wait lists for child care, severe problems with military housing, and folks struggling to get the health care and other services they need. I will continue to fight for servicemembers and their families, support a new emphasis on diplomacy and peacekeeping, and work for military policies that truly serve our national interest.”
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