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Washington, DC -- Today, Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) voted for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), legislation that makes key investments to improve the lives of servicemembers and military families, while also strengthening our national security.

“The FY 2022 NDAA honors our commitment to those serving our nation in uniform and keeps Americans safe from threats at home and abroad,” said Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton. “This legislation invests in our servicemembers -- the core of our national security -- with a pay raise, support for military families, and improved mental health services. With a focus on technological innovation and strategic global partnerships, we’re taking the steps needed to tackle the security challenges of today.”

This legislation includes a number of important priorities that Democrats fought for and secured, including:

• Vital benefits for servicemembers and their families, including a 2.7 percent pay increase, expanded parental leave, improved mental health care services and a new basic needs allowance for lower-income servicemembers.
• Combating sexual assault in the military by creating an Office of Special Victim Prosecutor to prosecute these crimes, removing the commanding officer from these decisions and finally criminalizing sexual harassment under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
• Significant investments in emerging technologies to modernize institutions of national security, including a 36 percent increase in defense-wide research and development, as well as new funding to improve DOD research labs.
• Action on the climate crisis by removing barriers to improving the extreme weather resilience of critical defense infrastructure and requiring the DOD to consider climate risks in its strategic planning.
• Addressing strategic and security challenges, ranging from competition with China, to the risks posed by violent extremism and white nationalism, to strengthening our cybersecurity infrastructure, to strengthening the provisions providing for the needs of our Afghan partners with Special Immigrant Visas.
• Recruiting a stronger, fairer, more diverse Armed Services by promoting academic partnerships with minority-serving colleges and universities, rooting out extremism among servicemembers and establishing a $15 minimum wage for covered DOD service and construction contracts.

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