Emerald Coast Times

Washington, D.C. — As a member of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC), U.S. Congressman Matt Gaetz (FL-01) applauded the passage the FY 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by the U.S. House of Representatives today. Rep. Gaetz secured several important provisions for Florida's First Congressional District in the NDAA, including up to $120 million for Northwest Florida's military mission, his amendments to get the Eastern Gulf Test & Training Range (EGTTR) back to full operation, and stop the “wokeification” of our military.

Before the FY 2024 NDAA heads to the President's desk to be signed into law, the Senate has to pass its version of the NDAA. Members from both the House of Representatives and Senate will then have to work on a final version of the NDAA in conference committee.

On the House floor, Rep. Gaetz successfully added an amendment to require unanimous jury verdicts within the Department of Defense (DoD) for conviction, sentencing, and other proceedings in general and special courts-martial.

During the House floor debate on amendments targeting “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” (DEI) indoctrination in the military, HASC Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) said: “Talk about shooting a dead horse. We now shot this thing 15 times over the course of the day.” In fact, House Republicans were successful in rooting out divisive DEI in the military by passing multiple amendments aimed at prohibiting and eliminating positions and offices related to DEI within the DoD and the Armed Forces.

In last month’s HASC committee markup of the NDAA, Rep. Gaetz secured $100 million for a new advanced helicopter training system hanger at Naval Air Station (NAS) Whiting Field and an amendment for an additional $20 million for the Navy’s operations and maintenance fund. Rep. Gaetz plans to make a formal request to the Navy that this money be used to fund the repair of the hangar that houses the Blue Angels at NAS Pensacola.

Additionally, the NDAA incorporates Rep. Gaetz's priorities secured in the HASC markup for service members in Northwest Florida, including his amendment to prohibit the Secretary of the Air Force from standing down, defunding, or decommissioning a special operations unit before Congress is briefed on a plan. It also includes his amendment to give the Secretary of the Air Force the authority to gift land to the Air Force Enlisted Village in Shalimar, Florida.

Further, Rep. Gaetz’s amendments added during the HASC markup to stop the DoD’s effort to advance “woke” ideology within our Armed Forces remain in the House-passed NDAA. His amendments to eliminate the position of Chief Diversity Officer at DoD and to prohibit DoD funds from being spent for drag shows or drag queen story hours were passed by the full House. Rep. Gaetz’s amendment to require DoD to submit a report to Congress on the costs of providing “Critical Race Theory” (CRT) training was also adopted by the House. 

In response to the U.S. House of Representatives passing the NDAA, Rep. Gaetz issued the following statement:

“Today, I proudly exercised the voice of Northwest Florida and voted YES on the FY 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a critically important piece of legislation that funds our military and halts the ‘woke’ indoctrination of our service members.

This bill is a victory for Northwest Florida and further cements our reputation as America’s premier location for military training. My funding priorities in the NDAA include $100 million for a new advanced helicopter training system hanger at NAS Whiting Field and $20 million intended for repairs to the Blue Angels hangar at NAS Pensacola. I was also successful in securing an amendment to get the Eastern Gulf Test & Training Range fully operational again for hypersonic weapons testing.

I am also encouraged by the House’s adoption of multiple amendments to end ‘woke’ ideology within the Department of Defense. Republicans will not stop until “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” and “Critical Race Theory” are completely eradicated from the military, and this bill will achieve that goal.

As we move forward, I remain dedicated to advocating for the welfare and interests of our nation's service men and women, so many of whom reside in our communities. By supporting this year’s NDAA, Congress reinforces our commitment to refocusing our military on its mission of ensuring a stronger and safer nation. I look forward to the Senate's passage of the NDAA,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz.

Background information on the provisions Rep. Gaetz secured in the House-passed FY2024 NDAA can be found below:

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

• $100 million for a new advanced helicopter training system hanger at NAS Whiting Field.
• Exemption under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 for certain activities that may result in incidental take of the Rice’s whale, allowing DoD to resume important weapons testing in the EGTTR. 
• Requirement to define force structure to ensure our special operators, like the ones at Duke Field, are not hastily dispensed without a plan for retaining their capabilities.  
• Authorizing Eglin land conveyance for Air Force Enlisted Village. 
• Increase the Navy’s operations and maintenance fund by $20 million with the intent to repair the Blue Angel’s hanger. 
• Require there to be a unanimous jury verdict within the DoD for conviction, sentencing, and other proceedings in general and special courts-martial.
• Study on opioid alternatives to enable pathways to pain remediation and care for service members and veterans that are not reliant on highly addictive compounds and Big Pharma.
• Special inspector general for Ukraine assistance to account for taxpayer funds being irresponsibly and untraceably used in the Ukraine/Russia conflict. 
• Prohibition on drag events to keep taxpayer money from funding ideologically driven and socially divisive activities.
• Report on partner countries whose forces were trained and equipped by DoD and engaged in a coup, insurrection, or action to overthrow a government to prevent U.S. taxpayer-funded training from being used against the U.S., our partners, or other sovereign nations.
• Prohibition on availability of funds for gain-of-function research to prevent another manmade pandemic. 
• Report on the cost of training on CRT to prevent wasting further taxpayer money on “woke” ideology.
• Elimination of the position of chief diversity officer at DoD due to no tangible positive impact to warfighting or retention and recruitment.
• Study on the ethical standards of military attorneys. 
• Study on DoD reinstatement of backpay and bonuses from COVID-vaccine separation to begin correcting the mistakes of the past. 
• Prohibition on DoD funding for the UPenn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement.
• Development and implementation of guidance for treatment of certain records of criminal investigation to correct the erroneous penalties for those acquitted in military justice. 
• Study to establish the feasibility of making redacted military trial and non-judicial punishment records available for public consumption. 
• Prohibition on certain communications regarding courts martial to prevent commanders from exerting undue influence upon potential military jurors. 
• Military solitary confinement reform to require least-restrictive use of solitary confinement and restrictive housing for military convicts.

Original source can be found here.