00:00Two minutes. Two minutes. The gentleman from Nebraska is recognized for two minutes.
00:04Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I want to thank the Chairman and the Ranking Member for putting this
00:07great legislation together and navigating the ship to a good spot, and I appreciate the opportunity
00:13to serve on those two committees. I rise today in strong support of H.R. 8070, the Service
00:18Member Quality of Life Improvement, and the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
00:222025. The 2025 NDA prioritizes the service members and the military families who dedicate their
00:29lives to protecting and defending the United States by making their quality of life the
00:34cornerstone of this legislation. The bipartisan bill includes a targeted 19.5 percent pay raise
00:40for the junior enlisted, improves basic needs allowance and housing allowance,
00:45supports military spouse employment, and makes necessary investments in military housing,
00:49child care, and schools. I'm extremely proud of the hard work and oversight conducted by
00:54the Bipartisan Quality of Life Panel that I had the honor of chairing this past year
00:58to address all these critical issues impacting our service members. By voting for this bill,
01:03each of us have the opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to the all-volunteer force,
01:07the foundation of America's military strength. In addition to supporting service members and
01:11families, this year's NDA also makes strides in bolstering the United States offensive and
01:17defensive posture in cyberspace. It promotes innovation. It makes investments in critical
01:22technology areas like biotechnology, quantum, and artificial intelligence, and secures our
01:27sense of military research from adversarial interference. This year's NDA also advances
01:32critical partnerships between our universities, military service, and combatant command,
01:36including the United States Strategic Command and the University of Nebraska. We want to develop
01:41the next generation of military technologies. These partnerships are critical to developing
01:46the scientific and technological workforce and talented pipelines needed to secure the United
01:51States technological edge now and in the future. We have a strong NDAA. It's a bipartisan bill that
01:56supports our service members. It modernizes our fighting force and ensures U.S. forces are well
02:01equipped to fight and win from competition to conflict. I strongly encourage my colleagues
02:05to support this bill, and I yield back.
Comments