U.S. Rep. Rick Allen, R-GA, says Thursday’s passage of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 will secure funding for national security operations in Georgia and eliminate the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for service members. The bill, H.R 7776, which passed on a bipartisan basis, authorizes annual funding levels for the U.S. Armed Forces and sets expenditures for the Department of Defense (DOD).
“I applaud the leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees for working in a bipartisan fashion to pass an NDAA that prioritizes the security of our great nation,” said Allen, after his vote for passage. “This year’s bill secures funding for missions at the Savannah River Site and Fort Gordon and ensures that our men and women in uniform will have the resources necessary to keep America safe. Especially in a time of increased global threats, this NDAA will empower our Armed Forces to continue enacting peace through strength.”
According to Allen, H.R. 7776 authorizes $858 billion in discretionary spending for national defense programs to ensure military readiness and provide for the modernization of our Armed Forces. In addition to authorizing critical funding at the Savannah River Site and Fort Gordon, this NDAA also reverses President Biden’s proposed cuts to military funding and supports a 4.6 percent pay raise for U.S. troops – the largest such increase in nearly 20 years.
Notably, this year’s NDAA ends the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate on active duty and reserve personnel, which the president imposed last August. This bill also will prevent the DOD from further terminating servicemembers over failure to take the COVID-19 vaccine, Allen said.
“For months, my colleagues and I have fought against President Biden’s overreaching vaccine mandates,” said Allen. “This order has had devastating effects on military recruitment which dramatically reduced America’s military readiness. In the future, President Biden will no longer be able to discriminate against recruits based on their vaccination status.”
