Reschenthaler Applauds NDAA Passage and Repeal of DoD COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA) issued the following statement regarding his support for the House passage of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023:

“As a Navy veteran, I believe a strong military equals a strong nation. Just as Congress has done for the past 60 years, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 sends a clear message to America’s foreign adversaries that our nation will remain the dominating force in the world,” said Reschenthaler. “Republicans fought hard for this legislation to reflect the needs of our warfighters. I want to thank my friend, future Speaker Kevin McCarthy, for securing language to repeal the disastrous COVID-19 vaccine mandate for the Armed Forces. At a time when China is on the rise, Russia is invading Ukraine, and Iran is emboldened, it is of utmost importance for America to support its Armed Forces now with the tools necessary to defend our nation.”

Specifically, this legislation:

• Supports a 4.6% pay increase for service members and authorizes $858 billion for national defense discretionary programs -- an increase of $45 billion over President Biden’s request.
• Rescinds the COVID-19 vaccination mandate on all active and reserve component service members and ends service member separations for failure to take the COVID-19 vaccine.
• Authorizes $1 billion for the acquisition of materials determined to be strategic and critical materials required to meet the defense, industrial, and essential civilian needs of the United States.
• Puts the Navy back on track to building a 355-ship fleet.
• Authorizes security assistance for Taiwan to deter China.

Additionally, Reschenthaler authored several amendments that were included in the conference agreement:

• Includes language on the mission-readiness capabilities of Pennsylvania’s 171st Air National Guard Refueling Wing by supporting the equal replacement with tanker production aircraft for any retiring KC-135 aircraft.
• Requires DoD to collect data on food insecurity among U.S. service members and their families.
• Requires each military service branch to ensure that a publicly available website includes a link to a description of the background of the Purple Heart, the eligibility criteria for awarding the Purple Heart, and contact information for each service's awards and decorations branch.
• Encourages the Army to continue to invest in the additive manufacturing and machine learning initiative.