Press Releases

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE-AL) voted to pass the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The bill included crucial provisions that will benefit our service members, support our national security, and improve the lives of Delaware’s military families and veterans. 

“The House passage of the critical National Defense Authorization Act represents a strong and responsible investment in our nation’s military,” said Congresswoman Blunt Rochester. “This year’s bill includes provisions that will benefit our men and women in uniform, including the largest pay raise for our men and women in uniform in over a decade. I am pleased that this bill includes provisions that support Delaware priorities, such as funding for a modern Army Reserve Center in Newark and a comprehensive response to PFAS pollution. This bill would also include a bill I cosponsored, the Military Surviving Spouses Equity Act, which would finally repeal the ‘widow’s tax’ so tens of thousands of survivors can receive the full benefits they deserve.”

The NDAA Includes:

Pay Increase

The House passed bill would provide a 3.1 percent pay increase to our troops. Each year, Congress has provided our servicemembers with a pay increase and this would be the largest increase in a decade.

Support Surviving Spouses

The House bill includes the Military Surviving Spouses Equity Act, introduced by Rep. John Yarmouth (D-KY) and cosponsored by Rep. Blunt Rochester. The provision would eliminate the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP)/Indemnity Compensation (DIC) Offset. This offset, also known as the widow’s tax, affects an estimated 64,000 survivors and reduces their SBP benefits by an average of $1,250 per month.

Newark Army Reserve Center Modernization

The House bill includes $21 million to make improvements to the Army Reserve Center in Newark, DE. This modernized facility will help maintain readiness for Delaware’s Army Reservists.

Comprehensive PFAS response

The House bill would include an additional $121.3 million to environmental restoration accounts to help clean up drinking water near military installations, requires a report on best practices for clean-up and disposal, and requires the military to find an alternative and ban PFAS-based firefighting foam by 2029. Crucially, the bill would allow the National Guard to access special funds, for five years, for addressing PFAS exposure and contamination.

Honoring Fallen Troops and their Families at Dover AFB

The bill would provide travel expenses for families members receiving the remains of their loved ones at Dover AFB and ensures all service members who perish outside a theater of combat operations are returned to loved ones in the United States. 

Iran, Iraq, and Syria

The bill requires stricter Congressional oversight of U.S. military activity in Iraq and Syria, requires a report on all U.S. military activities in Syria, and ensures nothing in the bill can be misconstrued to authorize the use of military force against Iran. 

Birth Control reform

The bill includes provisions that improve access to contraceptives, including the elimination of all cost-sharing for any contraception services obtained through TRICARE Prime and TRICARE Select, elimination of all copayments for contraceptive pharmaceuticals provided through the

TRICARE pharmacy benefit, and improves access to emergency contraception for survivors of sexual assault.

Block Border Wall Funding

The bill includes a blanket prohibition on funding for the construction of a wall, barrier, or fence along the southern land border.

Protects Against Nuclear Catastrophe

The bill would reduce the risk of miscalculation through the study of adopting a policy of no-first-use of nuclear weapons, prohibits deployment funding for low-yield nuclear weapons, and limits funds until the military provides a report of its intention on the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and the New START Treaty.

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