Washington – Rep. Don Bacon (NE-02) Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee’s Cyber, Information Technologies, and Innovation Subcommittee and Quality of Life Panel, delivered the following remarks on the House Floor in support of the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for FY25. FY25 NDAA resources can be found here.

Rep. Bacon’s remarks as prepared for delivery:

I rise today in strong support of H.R. 8070 – the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025.  

The 2025 NDAA prioritizes the servicemembers and their families who valiantly dedicate their lives to protecting and defending the United States by making their Quality of Life the cornerstone of this legislation.

This bipartisan bill includes a targeted 19.5% pay raise for junior enlisted, improves Basic Needs Allowance and Housing Allowance; supports military spouse employment; and makes necessary investments in military housing, childcare, and schools.

I am extremely proud of the hard work and oversight conducted by the bi-partisan Quality of Life panel that I had the honor of chairing this past year to address these critical issues impacting our service members. By voting for this bill, each of us have the opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to the All-Volunteer Force, the foundation of America’s military strength. 

In addition to supporting servicemembers and families, this year’s NDAA also makes strides in bolstering the United States’ offensive and defensive posture in cyberspace; promotes innovation, makes investments in critical technology areas like biotechnology, quantum, and artificial intelligence; and secures our sensitive military research from adversarial interference.

This year’s NDAA also advances critical partnerships between our universities, military services, and combatant commands, including at United States Strategic Command and the University of Nebraska, to develop next generation military technologies. These partnerships are critical to developing the scientific and technological workforce and talent pipelines needed to secure the United States technological edge now and in the future.

This year’s NDAA is a strong, bipartisan bill that supports our servicemembers, modernizes our fighting force, and ensures U.S. forces are well equipped to fight and win from competition to conflict. I strongly encourage my colleagues to support the bill and I yield back.

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