Kilmer Votes to Support Service Members, Military Families, and the Federal Civilian Workforce
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (WA-06) voted to support the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (NDAA). The bill authorizes funding for the Department of Defense (DoD) and passed the House of Representatives with bipartisan support.
“If you serve this country, Congress should have your back and invest in you and your family,” said Rep. Kilmer. “I’m proud that this year’s defense authorization bill includes major wins for service members and the folks who depend on them. The NDAA also includes wins for the regional economy, Washington State’s environment, and our region’s talented civilian workforce who are doing vitally important work to keep our country safe.”
Supporting Service Members and Federal Workers
The NDAA includes several measures supported by Rep. Kilmer to support American service members and their families, including a 4.6% pay raise for service members, additional funding for the Basic Allowance for Housing, and an increase in the number of households who are eligible for the Basic Needs Allowance – a monthly allowance for active-duty service members with dependents whose income falls below 150% of the federal poverty line.
Ensuring Fairness for Shipyard Workers
The NDAA includes language Rep. Kilmer led which aims to increase workers’ wages at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard by directing the Government Accountability Office to investigate pay gaps between federal trades workers and their commercial industry counterparts. Also, Rep. Kilmer fought to include language in the NDAA to improve access to childcare for military families, including service members stationed at Naval Base Kitsap and Joint Base Lewis McChord.
Also, the NDAA includes an amendment Rep. Kilmer led that directs the Navy to coordinate with the Department of Transportation and public shipyards to improve participation in, and access to, the Public Transportation Incentive Program – a transportation benefit program established to encourage employee use of mass transportation to reduce air pollution and traffic congestion.
The NDAA includes language championed by Rep. Kilmer to tackle military healthcare shortages. The language prevents additional medical staff reductions at military treatment facilities, including at Naval Hospital Bremerton, to ensure that service members and their families receive access to high-quality healthcare.
Protecting Washington State’s Environment
The NDAA includes Rep. Kilmer’s PUGET SOS Act, legislation that aims to enhance the federal government’s role and investment in the Puget Sound, the nation’s largest estuary by volume and the heart of Washington State’s identity and economic engine.
The PUGET SOS Act will help build a stronger partner in the federal government for critical Puget Sound recovery and restoration efforts by establishing a Puget Sound Recovery National Program Office in the Environmental Protection Agency to coordinate protection and restoration efforts related to Puget Sound and codify the Puget Sound Federal Leadership Task Force, created through a 2016 Memorandum of Understanding by executive action.
Also, the NDAA includes legislation Rep. Kilmer supported, the Protecting Our Marine Mammals Act, which aims to expand federal protections for marine mammals to include vessel speed mitigation measures, monitoring of underwater soundscapes, and grants to support research and development into marine mammal monitoring technologies in Puget Sound and across the country.
Reducing Jet Noise
The NDAA includes a provision Rep. Kilmer supported to continue the development of engine attachments (chevrons) to reduce jet noise. Rep. Kilmer is a longtime supporter of efforts to reduce the local impacts of noise from the Navy’s EA-18G Growler aircraft, stationed at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.
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