Three Bilirakis Bills Pass as Part of the NDAA, Poised to Become Law
Washington, DC: Representative Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) proudly cast a vote in favor of this year's National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which is now headed back to the Senate and then to the President to become law. The package robustly funds our national security, provides pay raises for troops, takes action to counter the growing threats posed by Russia, China, and Iran, enhances the allowable exemptions from vaccine mandates in the military (while allowing an honorable discharge for those who elect not to take the vaccine), and strengthens cybersecurity protections for our nation's critical infrastructure. The proposal also seeks accountability for President Biden's botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, including requiring a quarterly report to Congress of the Americans, allies, and assets left behind. It prohibits the Administration from providing payments or other resources to the Taliban regime. The bill also provides enhanced resources and development for military healthcare. In addition to these favorable measures, the Congressman worked hard and successfully ensured that the objectionable red flag provisions and military draft requirement for women, were stripped from the final package.
Three bills the Congressman co-authored are also included as part of the final NDAA. The first two are provisions he co-authored with Congressman Raul Ruiz related to burn pits. The first measure, the Department of Defense (DoD) Burn Pits Health Provider Training Act, implements mandatory training for all DoD medical providers on the potential health effects of burn pits. This legislative change will help ensure the early identification and treatment of health issues caused by burn pit exposure. The second provision, the Reducing Exposure to Burn Pits Act, requires the DOD to provide Congress with an estimate of funding currently dedicated for incinerators and waste-to-energy disposal alternatives to burn pits. This is an important first step in stopping the use of burn pits.
"We still have a long way to go as it relates to ensuring Veterans exposed to burn pits have access to the care and benefits they have earned, and we must keep pushing our TEAM Act which will achieve that moral imperative. However, our two provisions included in this package are a huge step in the right direction," said Congressman Bilirakis.
The third bill included in the package, The US-Greece Defense and Interparliamentary Partnership Act, was co-authored by Representatives Bilirakis and Deutch. This legislation will strengthen the defense partnership between the United States and Greece, by supporting Greek military modernization and multilateral security efforts between Cyprus, Greece, Israel, and the United States. "Greece has consistently proven itself to be a reliable ally in the Eastern Mediterranean. This critical legislation bolsters Greece's efforts to modernize its armed forces, while strengthening our strategic partnership among our Hellenic partners. It also enables continued security cooperation to help facilitate enduring stability throughout the region," Congressman Bilirakis remarked.
The NDAA package also includes several provisions to strengthen homeland security. It continues funding for the deployment of the National Guard to the border, reauthorizes authority for the DoD to support law enforcement counter narcotic and counter transnational crime efforts, and requires an assessment of the impact on military readiness of the DoD to transport illegal immigrants. "While we may not have gotten everything I would have liked, the overall package will strengthen our nation's military readiness and provide well-deserved increases for military families without including partisan poison pills that would have further divided our country," Bilirakis noted.