WASHINGTON, DC – April 28, 2016 – Early this morning, the House Armed Services Committee approved the Fiscal Year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which authorizes funding and sets policy priorities for the Department of Defense.

The bill contains several provisions authored by Massachusetts Third District Congresswoman Niki Tsongas, a senior member of the committee, including significant provisions to combat sexual assault in the military, support Massachusetts’ military installations, bolster the 3^rd District and greater Massachusetts’ economy, provide much-needed resources to women servicemembers and more (please see below for specific provisions).

The FY17 NDAA is expected to be considered by the full House of Representatives in the coming weeks.

Congresswoman Tsongas released the following statement:

“The annual defense bill is crafted each year to support and protect military members and their families, who sacrifice so much in service to this country. The House Armed Services Committee’s version of the FY17 NDAA, which passed early this morning, takes significant steps to establish policy and provide resources that will keep our servicemembers safe and successful.

“Having grown up in a military family and coming from a district in Massachusetts that adheres to a longstanding tradition of military service, I have sought ways to support the men and women of our armed services since I entered Congress. The annual defense bill has been an integral way for me to meaningfully advance policies that contribute to the safety and wellbeing of our force. This year’s bipartisan bill includes numerous provisions I authored that, among other things, build on past efforts to combat sexual assault, modernize critical equipment and boost the innovative research and industry partners developing these resources, prompt the DOD to evolve its policy with its changing demographics, and put a greater focus on mental health and substance abuse issues in the armed forces.

“In regard to the disturbing prevalence of sexual assault in the military, I have worked closely with Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) to continue developing significant legislation that supports survivors, strengthens prevention, encourages reporting, and reforms the military justice system that too often fails survivors of these crimes. Among other things, our provision makes it a crime to engage in professional retaliation, calls for increased transparency in the military justice system, provides better survivor access to court information, and brings an increased focus on treatment for male survivors of sexual assault.

“The NDAA this year includes legislation I co-authored that requires the Department of Defense to adhere to a long-established law – the Berry Amendment – that provides U.S. servicemembers with American-made clothing, footwear and other equipment. For years, the DOD has been circumventing the Berry Amendment when it comes to athletic footwear for new recruits and this legislation will assure that practice ends. The benefits are widespread as closing this loophole would simultaneously provide our servicemembers with high quality training shoes, keep business here on American soil, boost job growth and provide a better value to American taxpayers by ensuring that U.S. taxpayer money is spent on high-quality U.S.-made goods.

“With long overdue steps now being taken to fully integrate women into combat roles, the DOD must ensure servicewomen receive the same quality resources and protections as their male counterparts. To this end, I championed several provisions in the FY17 NDAA to make sure the Pentagon is providing women servicemembers with state-of-the-art equipment, including gender-specific body armor and combat footwear, both of which will help ensure safety, efficiency and effectiveness in the field.

“More broadly, the FY17 NDAA takes additional steps to ensure that all servicemembers are utilizing the most cutting-edge equipment and resources available. This means we must continue to pursue and implement the scientific gains and innovative research that provide modern, enhanced capabilities. Much of this is being done right here in Massachusetts, where military installations like Natick Soldier Systems Center and Hanscom Air Force Base, supported by our remarkable federally funded research and development centers like MIT’s Lincoln Labs, play a critical role in supporting servicemembers and advancing our national security. I was encouraged to see that this bill includes authorization for important funding needed to begin the modernization of the MIT/LL facilities to ensure that the institution continues to develop the world-class advancements that help keep our servicemembers safe around the world.

“As with all bills of this size, there were pieces that I was not happy with. For example, I oppose continued funding for facilities at Guantanamo Bay and support measures to close the detention facility. Additionally, I voted against including a program that continues to train and equip armed groups in Syria in absence of a robust debate in Congress on the broader war effort that has yet to happen. Moreover, this bill continues to fund our military using piecemeal supplemental spending against the best advice of civilian and uniformed leadership throughout the military and economists from across the spectrum. As the NDAA process moves forward, I will strongly advocate that this bill funds the Department of Defense in a responsible way to create more certainty and stability within the DOD and to ensure the final bill signed into law is one that works for our national and economic security.”

The following is a list of some of the Tsongas-authored and/or sponsored provisions included in the FY17 NDAA:

Military sexual assault

Prevent Retaliation and Open Transparency to Expand Care for Troops (PROTECT) Act
This bipartisan legislation, introduced by Reps. Tsongas and Turner, continues the lawmakers’ shared efforts to combat sexual assault in the military.

·         Creates a specific article in the Uniform Code of Military Justice criminalizing professional retaliation against victims and witnesses of crimes, and requires specific retaliation investigation training for Department of Defense (DOD) investigators

·         Requires DOD to report data on sexual assaults against spouses, intimate partners, and children to Congress

·         Requires DOD to create a website where victims, witnesses, and members of the public can access key court-martial information, including docketed court dates, key court documents, and records of trial

·         Encourages the DoD to provide more treatment options to male victims of sexual assault and work for continued awareness to the plight of male sexual assault survivors.

Providing support and resources for women in the military

·         Requires DOD to address the unique body armor needs of female servicemembers through a holistic acquisition strategy and to brief Congress on their plan to provide female-specific body armor

·         Requires the Secretary of the Army to survey no fewer than 2,000 female servicemembers in a range of military specialties to assess whether they are adequately equipped with the fit, size, and performance of essential combat footwear issued to them

·         Authorizes funds and a contract process for the acquisition and maintenance of exhibits for the Women in Military Service for America memorial at Arlington National Cemetery

Modernizing equipment

·         Requires DOD to adhere to the long-established Berry Amendment in regard to athletic footwear for new recruits

·         Recommends that the Army set a goal of reducing body armor weight by 20% while maintaining armor effectiveness and directs the Army to brief Congress on the potential for manufacturing of revolutionary fibers, textiles and other technologies toward this end

·         Directs the Secretary of the Navy to thoroughly review the safety and integrity of the  oxygen systems onboard the F-18 aircraft fleet and report findings to Congress

Strengthening public-private partnerships to help servicemembers

·         Provides an additional $5 million to support innovative partnerships between the University of Massachusetts, Lowell and Natick Soldier Systems Center to enable students to develop next generations solutions to the military’s hardest challenges

·         Includes $20 million for the STARBASE program to provide STEM education programs to serve students that are historically under-represented in these important fields

Massachusetts military installations

Support for research laboratories

·         Makes permanent the ability of the military services to use a portion of their annual funds for defense lab revitalization

·         Affirms Congressional support of the military services’ effort to take maximum advantage of state and local innovation centers located in high-tech innovation centers like the 3^rd District and greater Boston areas

Modernization Efforts at Hanscom Air Force Base

·         Extends support for the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) recapitalization program, one of the most reliable surveillance systems in the world managed at Hanscom Air Force Base, and grants full funding of the President’s budget request for this critical program at $128 million

·         Expresses continued Congressional support for the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) that helps our servicemembers stay connected to each other in some of the most remote areas of the world

·         Provides over $10 million in funding for a much needed gate project at Hanscom that will provide important security measures for the men and women working on base.

·         Provides $20 million for new facilities at Hanscom to advance the critical cyber and information technology programs being developed on the base.

MIT/Lincoln Labs

·         Recognizes the important role that MIT’s Lincoln Labs plays in cutting-edge research and development and authorizes planning and design funding that will go toward modernizing the facilities at Lincoln Labs

 
Mental health

·         Requires the Secretary of Defense to work with Veterans Affairs to develop a methodology that measures rates of suicide and attempted suicide to identify areas for prevention and treatment; and report to Congress on efforts toward these goals

·         Directs a national study and report to Congress on non-deployment-related brain injuries across the military services in light of the fact that 80% of servicemember brain injuries occur outside of deployment

Opioid abuse treatment and prevention

·         Requires the Secretary of Defense to report to Congress on how education, prevention, treatment and outreach on opioid prescription drug abuse can improve the readiness, health and quality of life of armed servicemembers

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