Omaha City Wire

Washington – Rep. Don Bacon (NE-02), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Cyber, Information Technology and Innovation Subcommittee, joined his House colleagues today in voting for H.R. 8070, the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2025. The bill passed the House of Representatives with a bipartisan majority of 217 to 199.

“For the 64th consecutive year, the House of Representatives has passed bipartisan legislation providing for the common defense and supporting our servicemembers and military families,” said Bacon. “I commend Speaker Johnson, Chairman Rogers, and my colleagues from both sides of the aisle on this significant legislative achievement.”

The title and base text of this year’s House NDAA is based on the legislative recommendations of the bipartisan HASC Military Quality of Life Panel led by Chairman Bacon over the last year.

“We must never forget that the All-Volunteer Force is the foundation of America’s military strength,” said Bacon. “The quality of life of our servicemembers and military families is a central national security issue. This landmark legislation takes aggressive steps to address the clear warning signs that more must be done to protect and preserve the All-Volunteer Force.”

In addition to substantial military quality-of-life reforms proposed by Chairman Bacon, the FY2025 NDAA also includes provisions that fully fund the modernization of America’s strategic nuclear deterrent, mandate merit-based personnel management policies across the Department of Defense, prohibit promoting and implementing various CRT and other race-based theories in Department of Defense schools, repeal exemptions allowing local commanders to permit displaying unauthorized flags at military installations, and prohibit contracting with firms rating domestic news sources engaging in lawful speech.

Provisions in the House FY 2025 defense bill led by Chairman Bacon include:

More than 30 recommendations totaling over $4.5 billion to improve military quality of life championed by Rep. Bacon who chaired a year-long effort to understand challenges faced by military servicemembers and families including:

- A targeted 19.5 percent pay increase for junior enlisted personnel with other structural pay and benefit improvements

- A requirement for military services to fully fund unaccompanied housing maintenance accounts and strengthen oversight of military housing programs

- A requirement for military services to fully fund childcare fee assistance programs and mitigate childcare staffing shortages at Department of Defense childcare facilities

- Measures to improve access to mental health providers and increase healthcare accessibility for servicemembers

- Measures to expand military spouse employment and provide flexibilities to federally-employed military spouses when their spouse changes duty stations

Additional language directives include:

- Establishing a subordinate unified command under U.S. Cyber Command for defensive cyber operations

- Establishing a Department of Defense Hackathon Program

- Authorizing designation as Legacy Guardians for former Airmen who supported space missions

- Maintaining current contract information for surviving next-of-kin for fallen servicemembers

- Allowing remarried spouses access to Military OneSource

- Assessing space and satellite security concerns in partnership with Middle Eastern allies including Israel

- Providing information on supplemental health insurance

- Conducting a pilot program on rapid response language training

- Developing campaign modeling capabilities for joint electromagnetic spectrum operations

- Mandating minimum student-teacher ratios at Department schools

- Expanding copyright protections for faculty at academic institutions

- Recommending restoration of retired rank for Air Force General John D. Lavelle

- Preparing an updated force posture assessment in Europe

- Additional funding initiatives such as USSTRATCOM's NC3 REACH initiative

- Additional funding support for USSTRATCOM's affiliated research center at University Nebraska

When compiled, H.R. 8070 can be found here.