Members Of N.M. Delegation Applaud Final Passage Of Annual Defense Bill

WASHINGTON (Dec. 15, 2021) – U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representatives Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) and Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) are welcoming the final passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2022. The defense bill has passed both chambers of Congress with strong bipartisan support and now heads to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law.

“After serving over a decade on Armed Services Committees in the House and Senate, I’m proud to continue supporting New Mexico’s military installations and the incredible service members dedicated to carrying out our national security missions,” said Heinrich, now Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies. “This bill makes major investments to provide our Armed Forces with the state-of-the-art equipment they need to stay ahead of our adversaries and to advance our leadership in emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Directed Energy, and Hypersonics. I'm especially pleased that we are passing provisions that I authored to advance the Department of Defense’s Artificial Intelligence and digital capabilities so we can maintain our competitive advantage in the rapidly changing cyber space. These provisions, among many others, benefit New Mexico’s economy, and advance our state’s position as a leader in national security for years to come.”

Heinrich concluded, “I’m proud that this legislation maintains a strong commitment to our service members who keep all of us safe, and makes historic reforms to the military’s handling of sexual assault cases.” 

"Today, I was proud to support the passage of the annual defense authorization bill that supports New Mexico's service members and their families, our four military installations, and two national laboratories," said Luján. "I’m proud this legislation includes a much-needed pay raise for service members, long overdue military justice reforms to provide independent oversight of sexual assault cases, and other critical diversity measures to ensure that our military leadership reflects the brave men and women serving our nation. This NDAA also delivers on the commitment DOD and DOE made by pushing the Air Force to remediate contaminated water caused by PFAS and other legacy waste disposal around Los Alamos." 

“This year’s NDAA increases military pay, addresses vital needs of our service members and their families, and funds programs important to our economy and national security,”said Stansbury. “New Mexicans have a long and proud history of answering the call to serve, and I am proud to be able to represent our communities and to help deliver key funding for our bases and National Labs.”

“Today, the Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act with provisions to improve the quality of life for our brave service members, including increased pay, strengthened parental leave, and funding for education. I’m proud to have secured an amendment requiring Air Force reporting on PFAS contamination and remediation. I also secured funding for UNM to stimulate the workforce development needed for our science and innovation economy,” said Leger Fernández. “This bill also makes historic changes to how the military handles sexual assault. These life-saving reforms will better protect our women and men in uniform.

The National Defense Authorization Act supports a total of $777.7 billion in fiscal year 2022 funding for national defense. Within this topline, the legislation authorizes $740.0 billion for the Department of Defense (DOD) and $27.8 billion for national security programs within the Department of Energy (DOE).

The full text of the FY22 NDAA can be found here. 

A summary of the FY22 NDAA can be found here.