FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act Clears House Committee
The House Armed Services Committee has advanced H.R. 4350 the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2022 in a bipartisan 75 to two vote last week. The legislation now advances to the full House of Representatives for review. The massive legislative package includes various provisions impacting the Department of Defense and national security missions.
The legislation advanced by the Committee includes a provision supporting contractors impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to GovExec, the NDAA makes permanent a program enacted last year to keep contractors in a “ready state” during the pandemic. The Just In Case Act “establishes special emergency reimbursement authority for the [Department] of Defense, similar to that provided by Sec. 3610 of the CARES Act, to allow contractors to be reimbursed if they are unable to work on-site due to a pandemic,” said the office of Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., vice ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee and ranking member of the panel’s Sea Power and Projection Forces subcommittee.
Inclusion of the bill in the larger NDAA package was praised by the Professional Services Council, a trade association that represents over 400 companies that contract with the federal government.
Several republican members of the Committee have applauded the bill for including additional funds for border security, assistance for disabled veterans, and a pilot study on the effectiveness of suicide prevention programs at the Department of Defense.
“I’m pleased that the committee approved the majority of my proposed amendments, including one that will reallocate $25 million to enable units from the Army National Guard to take a greater role in assisting U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel, who are already strained to the brink in the current crisis at our southern border,” Representative Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.) who serves on the Committee told The Oklahoman.
Several of the Committee’s democrats are celebrating an amendment authored by Representative Donald Norcross (D-N.J.) that would increase the domestic content requirement under the Buy American Act to 60 percent immediately, 65 percent by 2024 and 75 percent by 2029. Current law requires that 55 percent of an item acquired by the Department be made with American parts.
The NDAA would also localize pay boundaries for most federal employees and return DOD civilian employees to a one-year probationary period. These measures have been supported by the American Federation of Government Employees.
The legislation now moves to the full House for consideration. After review and approval by the full House, the legislation will move to the Senate where Senate Armed Service Committee members are considering their own version of the bill.
