Ernst on the Annual Defense Bill: ‘All states, all servicemembers benefit’

WASHINGTON –U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA), a combat veteran and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, proudly supported the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This year’s bipartisan defense bill includes a number of Senator Ernst’s priorities, including her work to provide additional support for our troops and their families, to address military sexual assault, and to harness Iowa’s critical contributions to our nation’s defense. 

Click here or on the image to for b-roll footage of Ernst discussing her priorities for FY20 NDAA. 

“As a former company commander and retired lieutenant colonel, I understand the obligation we have to provide our men and women in uniform with the support and resources necessary to carry out their mission and protect our great homeland. This overwhelmingly bipartisan defense bill will sustain and strengthen our national security against threats from around the world,” said Senator Joni Ernst.

A number of Ernst’s priorities were included in the FY20 NDAA. Below are a few highlights:

• expanding support for victims of military sexual assault and domestic violence and providing senior commanders with more oversight responsibilities to most effectively prosecute these serious offenses;
• improving research on TBI among servicemembers and strengthening the capacity to track and mitigate injuries caused by blast pressure exposure;
• sustaining and enhancing the workload at the Rock Island Arsenal;
• ensuring the production of much needed combat munitions at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant;
• working with the Pentagon to find solutions to PFAS contamination at military installations, such as in the groundwater at Air National Guard Base in Sioux City;
• requesting a briefing on DoD’s efficient and transparent use of Iowa tax dollars through language similar to Ernst’s COST Act;
• ensuring the Special Operations Command has the resources and authorities they need to be most effective in the fight today and in the future;
• increasing research and development for key technologies like artificial intelligence, directed energy, and hypersonics to deter adversaries such as China and Russia;
• improving our partnerships across the globe by expanding support for alliances like NATO and reaffirming alliances in the Pacific, as well as an increase in lethal aid to help our friends in Ukraine; and,
• protecting the economic security and well-being of veterans and their families who rely on disability benefits paid by the Department of Veterans Affairs or Defense (HAVEN Act).

For a full recap of the Ernst provisions included in the bill, click here.

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