National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)

RV_ · July 21, 2020

For vets, retirees, active and reserves here are the list of amendments going to a vote. No politics here just the list so those for or against can contact their representatives informed either way. I am a life member of AFSA, the Air Force Sergeant's Association, so I pass along these items of interest to us.

"House Considers 400+ Floor Amendments in 3 "en bloc" packages; passes 27 AFSA supported amendments.
On Monday, July 20, at 10:00 a.m., the House of Representatives began its floor proceedings for the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act. At around 8:00 p.m., the House had finalized voting on and passed 3 en bloc amendment packages that contained 394 amendments. Our team thoroughly sifted through the 394 amendments that moved through the process and identified 27 that supported quality of life initiatives. Those amendments are as follows:

An amendment sponsored by the Honorable Gus Bilirakis that requires the Defense Health Agency to produce a report on the feasibility, efficacy, and cost of expanding coverage for chiropractic care to military families and retirees under the TRICARE program.
An amendment sponsored by the Honorable David Cicilline that requires a report to Congress on care and treatment available and accessible to service members and their spouses for pregnancy, postpartum depression, and other pregnancy-related mood disorders.
An amendment sponsored by the Honorable Tom Cole that expands the benefits available under the TRICARE Extended Care Health Option Program.
An amendment sponsored by the Honorable Doug Collins that calls for the provision of hearing aids for dependents of certain members of the Reserve Components.
An amendment sponsored by the Honorable Charlie Crist that directs GAO to conduct a study on the transferability of military certifications to civilian occupational licenses and certifications.
An amendment sponsored by the Honorable Joe Cunningham that calls for the provision of transitional health benefits for certain members of the National Guard serving under orders in response to COVID-19.
An amendment sponsored by the Honorable Brian Fitzpatrick that seeks to improve DOD and landlord response time to identification and remediation of severe environmental health hazards in military housing.
An amendment sponsored by the Honorable Lois Frankel that requires DOD, in coordination with the Department of State, to conduct a pilot partner country assessment on the barriers to women's participation in the national security forces of six participating partner countries and require the Secretary of Defense to encourage admitting diverse individuals, including women, to each military service academy and to engage with elementary schools, secondary schools, post-secondary educational institutions, and nonprofits to support activities related to implementing the Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017.
An amendment sponsored by the Honorable Jared Golden that requires DOD and the VA to ask service members and veterans who have tested positive for a virus designated by the federal government as a pandemic, including COVID-19, if they were previously exposed to burn pits, so they can properly address their medical needs and ensure they receive proper care. Additionally, this amendment also enrolls service members and veterans exposed to toxic substance airborne chemicals or stationed near an open burn pit in the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry, unless they choose to opt out.
An amendment sponsored by the Honorable Josh Gottheimer that ensures members of the National Guard responding to the COVID-19 pandemic are provided with 14-days of housing to quarantine safely.
An amendment sponsored by the Honorable Garret Graves that authorizes the National Guard to be reimbursed in a timely manner in response to an emergency declared under the Stafford Act.
An amendment sponsored by the Honorable Debra Haaland that develops a plan to ensure members of the Armed Forces are not unduly affected due to pregnancy, childbirth, or medical conditions arising from pregnancy or childbirth.
An amendment sponsored by the Honorable Sheila Jackson Lee that authorizes a $2.5 million increase in funding to combat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
An amendment sponsored by the Honorable Ann McLane Kuster that directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a study on the cause for post-9/11 women-veterans who are experiencing joblessness at a higher rate than the rest of the veterans community.
An amendment sponsored by the Honorable Andy Levin that adds Transition Assistance Program (TAP) counseling pathway factors regarding childcare requirements, employment status of household members, location of duty station, effects of operational and personnel tempo on the member and household, and Indian status.
An amendment sponsored by the Honorable Jimmy Panetta that requires DOD to expand the use of TRICARE pregnancy resources for service members and their spouses.
An amendment sponsored by the Honorable Jimmy Panetta that calls for the inclusion of an annual public assessment of contractor performance metrics for privatized military housing units; including tenant satisfaction, maintenance management, project safety, and financial management.
An amendment sponsored by the Honorable Scott Peters that expands the eligibility for HUD-VA supportive Housing (VASH) voucher program to allow veterans with other-than-honorable discharges to access supportive housing vouchers.
An amendment sponsored by the Honorable Harley Rouda that directs GAO to study lapses in TRICARE coverage for National Guard or Reserve personnel as a result of duty status changes.
An amendment sponsored by the Honorable Raul Ruiz that requires DOD to implement mandatory training for all medical providers working under DOD on the potential health effects of burn pits.
An amendment sponsored by the Honorable Raul Ruiz that requires the inclusion of information on exposure to open burn pits in post-deployment health reassessments.
An amendment sponsored by the Honorable Raul Ruiz that expands the scope of the VA's open burn pits registry to include open burn pits in Egypt and Syria.
An amendment sponsored by the Honorable Donna Shalala that requires the establishment of procedures by which surviving remarried spouses with dependent children of a member of the armed forces who dies while on active duty or certain reserve duty can have access to on-base facilities, MWR's, exchanges, and commissary privileges.
An amendment sponsored by the Honorable Jackie Speier that establishes a confidential reporting option for sexual assault harassment complaints made by military members.
An amendment sponsored by the Honorable Norma Torres that provides compensation and credit for retired pay purposes for maternity leave taken by members of the National Guard and Reserve components.
An amendment sponsored by the Honorable Lori Trahan that establishes a pilot program on the treatment of certain members of the armed forces impacted by Traumatic Brain Injury and other associated health factors that influence long-term brain health and performance.
An amendment sponsored by the Honorable Peter Welch that requires the history of respiratory illnesses and information contained on the beneficiary from the burn pits registry to be included in the TRICARE Beneficiary COVID-19 Registry.

Now, the House moves forward to considering H.R.6395, the FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act, in its entirety. To write your elected officials in support of 24 Sections that are within the scope of our legislative platform, please click here.

Unfortunately, some of the AFSA backed amendments listed in last weeks advocacy campaign did not make it beyond the rules committee as they were determined to not be "germane" to the overarching mission of the NDAA.

Now, our team diverts our attention to seeking to get those amendments to pass in the Senate. To learn more about just a few of these amendments, please read the next section of this Military and Government Brief (M&G-B), titled "AFSA Executive Director Urges Senate Leadership to Support Quality of Life Benefits in the Senate's FY2021 NDAA!"

Safe travels, remember how we got here.

Edited July 21, 2020 by RV_