‘Our Country Is Determined To Support Our Service Members & Their Families’: Andy Kim Champions NDAA

3 months ago

During House floor remarks on Wednesday, Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ) spoke about the National Defense Authorization Act.

Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:

https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript

Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com

Transcript

00:00Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

00:02The bipartisan bill that passed out of the committee includes some incredible support

00:06for our service members and their families.

00:09The bill includes a 19.5% pay raise for junior enlisted service members, and a 4.5% pay raise

00:17for all other service members, and reverses a 5% reduction in basic allowance for housing.

00:24These provisions mean more money in service members' pocketbooks and more food on the

00:29table.

00:30The bill also fully funds child care fee assistance programs to eliminate wait lists and expand

00:36on the ongoing success of spouse employment programs by making permanent the Military

00:42Spouse Career Accelerator Pilot, which provides employment support to military spouses through

00:48a paid fellowship with employers across various industries.

00:53It is no secret that our armed forces are facing an unprecedented recruiting crisis,

00:58so we're asking the Department to take a second look at how medical treatments, conditions,

01:04and medications are evaluated.

01:06Finally, the bill addresses the ongoing health care needs of service members and their families

01:11by waiving fees and co-pays on the TRICARE dental program for all members of the selected

01:17reserve.

01:18We bring this bill to the floor to show, in a bipartisan way, that our country is determined

01:23to support our service members and their families, that we support readiness and recruitment

01:29efforts that are proven to work, and that we support service members, no matter who

01:33they are.

01:34I urge my colleagues to reject poison pill policy riders that could destabilize this

01:39important work, and not put the partisan politics over the well-being of our service members.

01:45Promoting a strong national defense and taking care of our service members are bipartisan

01:51issues.

01:52Thank you, and I yield back the remainder of my time.

‘Our Country Is Determined To Support Our Service Members & Their Families’: Andy Kim Champions NDAA

Category

Transcript

Recommended