Rep. Cisneros Secures Major Wins in NDAA, Increases Pay and Benefits For Servicemembers and their Families

WASHINGTON - Late last night, Congressman Gil Cisneros (CA-31), former Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, Naval officer, and member of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), secured 29 legislative priorities in a mark-up of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

"As a Navy Veteran and the former Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, I fought hard and succeeded in securing 29 legislative priorities-totaling over $369 million in authorized funding-to strengthen our national security and provide necessary resources for our servicemembers and their families. While Republicans refuse to hold the President accountable for his actions, I fought back against the politicization of our military, defeated initiatives that attacked women and people of color, corrected bigoted attempts to rename bases for confederate secessionists, and reined in Donald Trump's war of choice in the Middle East," said Rep. Cisneros. "Our servicemembers and military families deserve the best, and I'm proud to champion and support efforts that will implement critical upgrades in military technology and equipment, give our servicemembers a well-earned pay increase, protect collective bargaining rights, expand mental health resources, invest in our local small businesses, and work on a path forward to consolidate our overly complicated duty status system."

Rep. Cisneros offered and successfully secured inclusion of 29 legislative priorities in the NDAA, including:

• Adding coordination efforts between the DoD and the Department of Veterans' Affairs on duty status reform, to ensure our servicemembers receive equitable pay and benefits.
• Requiring the Department of Defense (DoD) to submit an opinion on the proposed duty status consolidation included in my bill, the Duty Status Reform Act.
• Requiring the DoD to brief Congress on expected DoD assistance to the LA28 Olympic games.
• Ensuring the commissary does not increase grocery prices for military families.
• Pathways to expanding the Mission 100 program, a campaign in Alaska that requires every servicemember to do a yearly check-in with a counselor or behavioral health specialist.
• Requiring the DoD to increase awareness of the Brandon Act and other mental health resources and standardizing mental health training for leadership.
• Requiring the Department of Defense's Inspector General to conduct oversight of every service branch's suicide prevention efforts.
• Studying the effectiveness of telehealth behavioral health access and its effects on improving the mental health and wellness of our servicemembers.
• Conducting congressional oversight of sailors living on ships when they're not deployed to ensure our servicemembers do not have to live where they work.
• Conducting congressional oversight of chaplain recruitment challenges to ensure our servicemembers' mental health and spiritual needs are being met.
• Allowing military family life counselors (MFLCs) to transfer their licenses across state lines to cut red tape and ensure our servicemembers and families have counseling opportunities.
• Oversight into DoD efforts in strengthening the requirements to buy American textiles and apparel and encouraging domestic manufacturing production.
• Requesting additional funding for critical programs including:
  • $198 million for the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe program, which supports at-risk teens by providing support with academics, physical fitness, and job skills.
  • $75.6 million for Navy Tuition Assistance.
  • $61 million to fund scientific research, upgrade laboratory equipment, and provide summer internships for minority students in STEM fields.
  • $35 million for funding and new equipment that will benefit the California Army National Guard.
  • $16 million in funding for CA-31 small businesses.

Rep. Cisneros is a Navy Veteran and the former Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. He currently serves on the House Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee on Military Personnel, and Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations. Rep. Cisneros is a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and serves on its leadership team as the Freshman Representative.

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