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Senate Passes National Defense Bill That Includes Key Ayotte Provisions

Dec 5, 2012

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Senate tonight passed the Fiscal Year 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the annual defense policy bill that supports the men and women of the U.S. armed forces and their families, and authorizes the equipment, training, and resources that service members need to complete their missions. Included in the final version of the defense authorization bill are several proposals authored or cosponsored by U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), including measures aimed at reducing wasteful and duplicative spending in the Pentagon's budget. The Senate bill will now be considered by a joint conference committee, which is tasked with reconciling the differences between the Senate legislation and the House-passed version before final passage by Congress.

As Ranking Member of the Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee, Senator Ayotte worked closely with Chairman Claire McCaskill (D-MO) to achieve additional efficiencies in the Pentagon's budget while guarding against irresponsible cuts that would leave our troops and our nation less prepared for future contingencies.

"I'm pleased that Republicans and Democrats worked together to debate and pass this legislation, which is so important to our troops, our veterans, and their families," said Senator Ayotte. "This bill includes significant reforms that save taxpayer dollars, including provisions I authored that will help reduce wasteful and duplicative spending in the Pentagon's budget - without endangering military readiness."

Senator Ayotte also cosponsored several additional amendments, including: an amendment that would authorize additional Marine Corps personnel for the purpose of security functions for U.S. embassies, consulates and other diplomatic facilities abroad; a provision that would require DoD to develop a plan to promote the security of Afghan women and girls; and an amendment requiring the government to take action to prevent human trafficking related to government contracts.

AYOTTE PROVISIONS IN THE FY 2013 NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT:

Pentagon Audit

Since arriving in the Senate, Senator Ayotte has led Senate efforts to push for an expedited and full audit of the Pentagon. The defense authorization bill includes language authored by Senator Ayotte requiring the Pentagon to provide a full statement of budgetary resources by 2014 - an important milestone on the Pentagon's path to a thorough accounting of its finances by 2017. Her amendment ensures that DoD will have reliable financial data and effective business processes and systems in order to distinguish between necessary defense budget cuts and reductions that would harm our troops and threaten readiness.

MEADS

Senator Ayotte's amendment prohibits any funding for the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS), a troubled weapons program that the Pentagon has said it does not plan to procure. Despite this fact, DoD chose to ignore both current law and congressional direction and requested $400.9 million for MEADS in the FY 2013 budget. Senator Ayotte led two letters this year to Senate Appropriators and Secretary Panetta calling for an end to funding for this wasteful program.

Facility Sustainment, Restoration, and Modernization (FSRM)

The bill also includes Senator Ayotte's provision to require DoD to meet unique facility requirements associated with historic buildings located on military installations. Currently, some bases, such as Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, have a large quantity of historic buildings listed on the National Registry of Historic Places that are critical to the bases' operations. The presence of these buildings on the registry requires the respective bases to maintain these buildings at a higher and costlier standard. Yet, the Department frequently does not provide sufficient funding to match these requirements. This reporting requirement will help address this ongoing problem.

Preventing Transfer of Terrorist Detainees to U.S. Soil

Last week, the Senate voted 54-41 to approve Senator Ayotte's amendment that would prevent foreign terrorist detainees from being transferred from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility to the United States. As a member of the Armed Services Committee, Senator Ayotte has worked to keep Guantanamo Bay open as a long-term terrorist detention facility for foreign members of al Qaeda and affiliated groups in order to keep them off the battlefield and collect intelligence that will help prevent future attacks.

Naval Fleet

Senator Ayotte successfully included language that seeks to clarify the Navy's current fleet size requirement. The language requires the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) to complete a report to the Senate and House Armed Services Committees that clearly states the Navy's requirement for ships and submarines. If the requirement is less than 313 ships and submarines (the CNO's number last year), then the CNO must justify the revised numbers and explain how this reduction is consistent with the President's and the Secretary of Defense's strategic guidance that emphasizes the Asia Pacific.

Army and Marine Corps Endstrength Reductions and Involuntary Separations

Senator Ayotte included language that requires the Army and Marine Corps to provide regular reports regarding any Marines or soldiers who are involuntarily separated from the military to achieve endstrength reductions. As the Army and Marines reduce the size of their forces, Ayotte's language will also require DoD to report to Congress the deployment time for individuals being told to leave the service. The Army has said it will have to issue thousands of involuntary separations to achieve its endstrength reductions.

Prosthetics for Wounded Warriors

Language included by Senator Ayotte requires the Secretary of Defense to develop and implement a plan to standardize the production and performance of prostheses and prosthetic sockets for military amputees. The Ayotte report language encourages DoD to continue clinical and technological research and development for prostheses, as well as adopt standards for production and human performance. Such standards are critical to helping service members who have lost one or more limbs in service to our country to achieve their highest goals for recovery, rehabilitation, and performance.

Joining Forces

Senator Ayotte and Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) successfully included an amendment aimed at enhancing the department's research, treatment, education, and outreach initiatives focused on the mental health, substance abuse, and traumatic brain injury needs of members of the National Guard and Reserve. This amendment will help address the unique needs of Guard and Reserve members by allowing DoD to enter into partnerships with private organizations and institutions according to a competitive and merit-based process.

Military Cemeteries

Senator Ayotte successfully included an amendment that would require the Secretary of Defense to submit a report no later than 30 days after the closure of any overseas U.S. military base that details a plan to ensure that an appropriate federal agency or private entity assumes responsibility for continued maintenance and oversight of the cemetery located on the base. The Ayotte amendment would help ensure that no cemetery will be neglected the way Clark Veterans Cemetery was following the Air Force's departure from Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines in 1991.

 

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