Washington, D.C. -- Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-09), issued the following statement after voting in favor of H.R. 8070, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2025:
“I am pleased this year’s NDAA legislation is a return to defense-related priorities, focusing on military readiness, rather than being overloaded with unrelated woke liberal provisions having nothing to do with strengthening our military.
Importantly, my great state of Arizona is home to tens of thousands of service members from all branches of the armed forces and several military bases and installations. I am particularly pleased that the NDDA contains four of my amendments including my amendment authorizing employees at the Yuma Proving Ground to use nonelectric vehicles in the performance of their duties. The military is no place to experiment with untested technology and the combat readiness and training of soldiers and equipment is jeopardized by the compelled use of electric vehicles that tend to not work in the desert heat.
I am also pleased that the NDAA included another of my amendments requiring the Secretary of Defense to submit a report to Congress on the training of Ukrainian Armed Forces, including pilots, within the United States. In Arizona, Ukrainian Air Force pilots are being trained on F-16 fighter jets with the 162nd Wing at Morris Air National Guard Base in Tucson. This raises significant concerns about our national security. It is critical to have a clear understanding of all efforts to train Ukrainian Armed Forces within the geographic United States to ensure effective lawmaking and Congressional oversight of defense capabilities.
This year’s NDAA also included my amendment requiring the disclosure of all records relating to the January 28, 2024 attack on Tower 22 in Jordan. This attack claimed the lives of three U.S. Army service members from Fort Moore, Georgia and injured dozens of members of the 1st Battalion, 158th Infantry Regiment, or “Bushmasters,” of the Arizona National Guard, including Guardsmen from Phoenix, Tucson, Florence, Prescott, and Buckeye.
Finally, the NDAA included my amendment prohibiting the Biden administration from diverting any funds from barracks construction for U.S. troops to facilitate further aid to Ukraine. The Biden administration has made a habit of reprogramming military construction and family housing appropriation funds. This amendment affirms the funding commitment to American service members, ensuring they have the resources and infrastructure they need, safeguarding monies appropriated for barracks construction from instead being used to aid Ukraine.
Rather than funding unrealistic climate mandates, drag queen happy hours, taxpayer funded abortion services, and gender mutilation surgeries, this bill provides a much-needed pay increase to all other service members, improves their housing and access to healthcare, strengthens our military defense systems and provides essential oversight to ensure our armed forces are stronger and better prepared. Unlike past legislation, this year’s NDAA does not fund the proxy war in Ukraine.
The FY25 NDAA pushes back against the radical woke ideology being forced on our service members and restores the focus of our military preparedness. For these reasons, I was proud to cast my vote in support of the NDAA,” concluded Congressman Gosar.
Background:
H.R. 8070 would authorize $895.2 billion in funding, of which, $850 billion would be for the Department of Defense discretionary base, $33.3 million in Department of Energy discretionary base, and $500 million in Defense-related activities. Overall, it would provide for an increase in authorization of $9 billion or 1% over FY 2024 enacted levels.
The bill would also support an increase in military basic pay by 19.5% for junior enlisted service members and 4.5% for all other service members.
