SALINAS, CA – Today, U.S. Representatives Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Don Bacon (R-NE), Rick Larsen (D-WA), Mike Waltz (R-FL), and Pat Fallon (R-TX) of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) introduced the Strengthening the Force and Fleet through Enlisted Education Act, or Smart Act.  This bipartisan bill would expand advanced degree opportunities for enlisted servicemembers at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS).  Currently, enlisted servicemembers have limited opportunities to pursue higher education, and in some cases the proportion of officers with a master’s degree or higher is more than six times the proportion of enlisted servicemembers with a bachelor’s degree.