January 16, 2025
Bipartisan NDAA invests in Georgia's military families and bases
By: Rep. Buddy Carter
Every single day I hear from military servicemembers about their frustrations with the VA [Veterans Affairs], cost of living, and childcare, just to name a few. These concerns are valid, and I’m excited to say that Congress has taken a major step towards addressing them.
A sweeping bipartisan bill was recently signed into law that will bring quality of life improvements to servicemembers and investment to our military bases here in the First Congressional District of Georgia.
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025, a bill with a sixty-year tradition of passing the House, is one of the most important votes Congress takes each year because it directly impacts our defense readiness, servicemembers, and their families....
No military servicemember, or their family, should ever be forced to rely on foodbanks, SNAP, or WIC just to put food on the table. Servicemembers’ pay – particularly for those junior enlisted – has failed to keep pace with inflation, forcing many families to do exactly that. Fortunately, this year’s bill includes a 14.5% pay bump for junior enlisted servicemembers and a 4.5% pay raise for all servicemembers, increasing financial security military-wide.
Servicemembers can face wait times of up to 2 months to see a specialty medical provider and more than 3 weeks for a mental health appointment. This is simply unacceptable. The NDAA enables the Department of Defense (DoD) to recruit more mental health providers and doctors. It also makes changes to TRICARE requirements so that it is easier to access life-saving medical care.
Similarly, childcare access is unreasonably difficult for many servicemembers due to worker and facility shortages throughout the DoD. That’s why the bill includes pay increases for childcare workers and funding for new centers, helping to alleviate the strain that lack of appropriate childcare access can cause Georgia’s households...
Funding for new barracks and energy self-sufficiency is on its way to Fort Stewart. Not only will this ensure that our servicemembers have adequate housing resources available to them, but it will also help increase the base’s energy reliability. We saw during Hurricane Helene how devastating widespread power outages can be, and those threats are especially high when our national security is involved. Safeguarding our military’s energy infrastructure against natural disasters is a federal priority, and I am thrilled that Fort Stewart will soon have this vital protection in place.
Additionally, Hunter Army Airfield is receiving funds to build new training and maintenance facilities. This funding will support parachute training and special forces operations so that our world-class military has world-class trainings and resources available to them. The number one responsibility of the federal government is to provide for our nation’s defense, and a key part of that is investing in the education of those who put their lives on the line to protect ours.
Finally, Kings Bay Naval Base will obtain funding to prepare for the arrival of the new Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines, the first naval base to host this top-of-the-line technology. I previously supported funding for these submarines as part of the FY23 NDAA and am excited for the jobs and opportunities this upgrade will bring to our region...
Read the full Savannah Morning News Article here.
