U.S. Congressman Austin Scott (GA-08) joined the House Armed Services Committee in approving H.R. 4909, the Fiscal Year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act.  After more than 16 hours of debate, the legislation passed out of committee with a bipartisan vote of 60-2.
 
Congressman Scott, who serves on the Readiness and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittees, represents Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, GA and Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta, GA.  The NDAA authorizes funding for our nation’s military, including $610.5 billion in topline national defense funding with $23.1 billion for the Overseas Contingency Operations account.
 
“The House Armed Services Committee came together to produce a bipartisan bill that supports our warfighters and protects our nation’s security,” said Congressman Austin Scott, who is the only Republican from Georgia on the House Armed Services Committee.  “The NDAA achieves the committee’s goal to implement reforms without compromising our military’s capability to be prepared for the challenges we face.  Throughout this process, our priority and focus was to ensure our military has the very best training and weapons systems to meet these challenges, which include growing terrorist threats and instability in many areas of the globe.
 
I am grateful that members of this committee recognized that the A-10C Warthog, which is flown out of Moody Air Force Base, continues to provide the important close air support capability that is essential to our nation’s defense by preventing their retirement and investing in operations and maintenance for the fleet.  I am also proud that the Committee adopted my amendment to delay retirement of the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System, which are flown out of Robins Air Force Base, through fiscal year 2018.  It is an honor to serve as a voice for Robins and Moody on the committee, and I applaud the committee for their focus on supporting and protecting our service men and women and their families.”
 
Congressman Scott’s Effectiveness during the Mark Up Process:
Congressman Scott worked extensively with the Committee on continued efforts to acquire a new JSTARS fleet and successfully retained recapitalization program language in the base text, which fully funds the program at $128 million for fiscal year 2017.  Additionally, Congressman Scott offered three amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act.  The first extends current law prohibiting the retirement of the E-8C JSTARS from fiscal year 2017 to fiscal year 2018.  Congressman Scott offered his second amendment with the support of members of the Depot Caucus.  This amendment removed proposed language from the NDAA that would have had a detrimental effect on the Air Force depot community’s C-130 maintenance and modernization work load. The removed language would have potentially shifted work from the Air Force depots to the private industry, undermining depot capability to efficiently execute the required maintenance.  The last amendment offered by Congressman Scott would prevent changing of the current definition of a Commercial Item.  The proposed change would have harmed the workforce at depots, including Robins Air Force base.
 
The NDAA is good for Georgia and the Eighth Congressional District:

The NDAA also included several provisions that will strengthen Georgia’s military installations.  Congressman Scott supported two provisions that will enable hiring authorities to fill crucial positions within the depot and wider technical communities with talented employees in a timely manner. These provisions will also allow the Air Force to better compete with the private sector and leverage technical skills to stay ahead of global competitors.  Additionally, the NDAA authorizes a study on the feasibility to bring the F-22 back into production.  Original production for the F-22 occurred in Marietta, GA, and restarting the line would have significant positive economic impact on the state of Georgia. This legislation also allows Cyber Command to become a standalone combatant command; giving Ft. Gordon increased independence, flexibility, and authority to execute national cyber missions.

This bill helps begin to correct the funding shortfalls that have led to a lack of readiness and to a heightened level of risk to our troops and our security.  It stops cuts to our Armed Forces, provides a pay raise for our troops, and makes major reforms in several critical areas, including military health care, the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and the acquisition system. The legislation also rejects a Base Realignment and Closure for FY2017.