Last week, the House Armed Services Committee – with Georgia Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA 8) as the lone Peach State member – passed the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The bill provides funding for the military and includes everything from radar systems to Covid-19 diagnostic equipment.
Rep. Scott’s district contains the Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins and follows the legislation keenly, looking out for particular programs, such as the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar Systems (JSTARS) that call Robins home.
Likely the most bipartisan agreement contained in the bill was a three percent pay raise for troops. The bill also makes further investments in new technology like artificial intelligence and autonomous systems. Perhaps going a little against policy from the White House, the bill also includes a planned enhancement of the U.S. presence in the Indo-Pacific region, strengthening partnerships, missions and training in the region.
The aforementioned JSTARS is one of the jewels of Robins. The program is a joint Air Force and Army program that provides airborne surveillance, intelligence and command and control to the military via radar and other equipment. It also distributes detailed battlefield information as the planes in the JSTARS are deployed around the world and the information is processed out of Robins.
JSTARS has been frequently proposed for a cut – or retirement altogether – but Rep. Scott and others continue to advocate for its importance. The final legislation included a provision that prohibits the retirements of 16 JSTARS aircraft. It also included an extra $27 million beyond the White House’s budget request for “much-needed modernization upgrades to the JSTARS aircraft to ensure the system can continue to support combatant commanders’ needs.”
Scott also inserted a provision that would prohibit the retirement of A-10C “Warthog” aircraft that are based out of Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta. The A-10Cs continue to be used against ISIS, in Eastern Europe facing Russian trouble-making and missions in Southeast Asia.
One item of note in the bill – which means very little other than symbolically –was a provision included that would allow for the changing of names for military bases. Some of the bases were named after Confederate military leaders and many Democrats would like to see some changes. President Trump has threatened a veto over the issue but Rep. Scott appeared on Fox News to say he was open to some of the changes.
Scott warned that a veto would throw the nearly trillion dollar bill back into committee and leave the military in a bit of a lurch for future planning.
“As this legislation moves to the Floor for consideration by the full House, I look forward to continued bipartisan changes to the overall legislation, and you can rest assured that I will continue to fight for our Georgia installations and the resources they need to complete their missions safely and successfully,” added Scott.
