In a Major Win for N.M.’s Economy and Service Members, Rep. Stansbury Passes Pay Raises and Secures $9 Million in Projects for NM-01 in Defense Bill
Rep. Stansbury secures funding for command offices at Kirtland Air Force Base
WASHINGTON—In support of New Mexico’s economy, U.S. Representative Melanie Stansbury (N.M.-01) today helped secure over $9 million in funding to establish and expand command offices at Kirtland Air Force Base (KAFB). This funding, included as part of the FY2023 National Defense Authorization Act, also includes a 4.6% pay raise for service members, $22.8 million in new funding for KAFB, and $600,000 for the New Mexico Army National Guard.
The $9.1 million secured by Rep. Stansbury in project funding will help build new headquarter facilities for key offices at KAFB, including new space capabilities and additional missions. Rep. Stansbury also supported a request for $600,000 for the New Mexico Army National Guard.
“From our airmen and women at Kirtland Air Force Base to our scientists at Sandia Labs and AFRL, New Mexico plays a vital role in serving our country and national security,” said Rep. Stansbury. “This year, I’m proud to have secured key facility investments so that Kirtland can continue to be a leader in national security. This National Defense Authorization Act also provides a pay raise to our hardworking service members, and invests in the health and well-being of our service members and their families.”
Rep. Stansbury also voted to pass critical provisions in the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act for New Mexico including:
A 4.6% pay raise for service members and civilians, in addition to supporting inflation bonuses for many service members and civilians
Behavioral health service expansion to improve access to behavioral health services for military service members and their families
Over 20% increase in basic research funding, strengthening the pipeline of future innovation
An extension of National Guard support for the Fireguard program until 2029.
The $22.8 million in new funding for Kirtland Air Force Base in the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act will support:
$4.7 million for a new Joint Navigation Warfare Center Facility Planning and Development
$4.4 million for a new Space Rapid Capabilities Office Headquarters Facility Planning and Development
$4.1 million for F-16 Formal Training Unit Airfield Requirements Planning and Development
$15 million for High Speed Test Track Planning and Development
Nearly $11.2 million for the 58 SOW/PJ/CRO Pipeline Dorm Planning and Development
$2 million for ADAL Systems & Digital Engineering Lab Planning and Development
$540,000 for Explosives Operations Building Planning and Development
The full text of the FY 2023 can be found here. A text summary can be found here.
The FY2023 NDAA also:
Supports Military Service Members and Families
Adds $210 million for commissary to help reduce costs.
Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH): Adds funds to decrease BAH reduction by 2% and requires a report on a more transparent, fair, and flexible way to calculate the basic allowance for housing. Increases eligibility for BAH to cover more servicemembers.
Childcare: Requires the Secretary of Defense to complete a pay study and adjust the pay of child development center employees as compared to similarly trained and qualified public elementary school employees.
Spouse change of station reimbursement: Authorizes financial reimbursement for moving expenses for spouses with home businesses.
Access to behavioral health: The bill includes several provisions that:
Increase opportunities to grow the number of available behavioral health providers.
Require analysis of the number of providers needed to support care delivered at military treatment facilities and embedded in operational units.
Establish a program to better train civilian behavioral health providers to meet the unique challenges of service members and their families.
Expand license portability for providers delivering non-medical counseling.
Require the Government Accountability Office to review whether TRICARE conforms with the requirements of certain mental health parity laws.
Supports Addressing Issues Related to Wildfires
Extends the National Guard support for the Fireguard program until 2029.
Allows the DoD to transfer aircraft to other departments for the purposes of aiding search and rescue operations or emergency operations related to wildfires.
Adds the “National Interagency Fire Center” to the list of agencies that the National Guard should consult with during wildfire training
Accelerates Innovation Across the Science and Technology Ecosystem
Authorizes a 22.8% increase in basic research funding, strengthening the pipeline of future innovation.
Authorizes $300 million to create a new class of biomanufacturing capabilities and facilities, providing a crucial capability to transition products successfully proven in the lab to commercial scale.
Authorizes an additional $100 million to strengthen the domestic supply chain for critical elements of microelectronics production.
Continues Efforts to Address PFAS and PFOA Contamination
Requires the DoD to implement Comptroller General recommendations to set goals for the timely clean-up of formerly used defense sites that fall under the Military Munitions Response Program.
Modifies a prize program created in the FY21 NDAA created to incentivize private sector development of AFFF alternatives to include research on PFAS-free personal protective firefighting equipment.
Expands the list of non-essential items containing PFAS that DoD is prohibited from procuring for use within the DoD.
Supports Europe and Ukraine’s Capabilities to Counter Russia
Fully funds the European Deterrence Initiative (EDI) budget request and invests in additional capabilities that support deterrence in the European Command area of operations, totaling over $6 billion for EDI purposes.
Includes $800 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), which provides support and assistance to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Expresses the Sense of Congress in strong support of U.S. commitments to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance and European partners.
Combats reliance on Russian energy: Requires all main operating bases in the U.S. European Command area of responsibility to adopt installation energy plans to increase energy resiliency and sustainability in order to reduce reliance on Russian energy and sets a DoD goal of eliminating their use of Russian energy entirely.
Supports and Empowers HBCUs and Other Minority Serving Institutions
Increases funding for HBCUs to over $131.7 million.
Requires the DoD to submit a report on actions that may be carried out to increase the participation of minority-serving institutions in the research, development, test, and evaluation activities of the DoD following the release of the National Academies study on defense research capacity at HBCUs and other minority serving institutions.
Establishes the Dellums Fellowship Program to provide scholarships and internships for eligible students, particularly women of color, with high potential talent in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics.