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ICYMI: Rubio Joins Special Report

Sep 26, 2023 |

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) joined Special Report with Bret Baier to discuss the impending government shutdown, the possibility of a Saudi-Israeli normalization deal, and the indictment of Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ). See below for highlights and watch the full...

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Rubio Applauds Senate Passage of 2022 National Defense Authorization Act

Dec 15, 2021 | Press Releases

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) applauded the Senate passage of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes critical provisions that benefit Florida. 
 
“I’m proud to support this year’s defense bill to ensure that our military has the resources it needs to protect America and our brave men and women are taken care of,” Rubio said. “Though the NDAA is not perfect, the legislation includes important provisions that will deliver major benefits to military installments throughout Florida, while making certain that the U.S. military is prepared to confront threats to our national security in the years ahead.”
 
The 2022 NDAA includes the following provisions that directly impact Florida and bolster our national defense:
  

  • Tyndall AFB: Emphasizes the intention to make Tyndall the “Base of the Future.”
  • Tyndall AFB: Modification of authority to carry out military construction projects.
  • Eglin AFB: $93 million for military construction which includes $35 million for the cost to complete the Advanced Munitions Technology Complex, $14 million for the flight line fire station at Duke Field, $4 million for the F-35A Development/Operational Test 2 – Bay Hangar, and $40 million for Weapons Technology Integration Center.
  • MacDill AFB: $22 million for military construction to build a transmission and switching stations.
  • Homestead Air Reserve Base: $14 million for a Corrosion Control Facility.
  • Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island: $69.4 million for a lighterage and small craft facility.
  • Naval Air Station Jacksonville: $7 million for planning and design for lighterage and small craft.
  • Patrick AFB: $18.5 million for a Simulator C-130J.
  • Naval Undersea Warfare Center Panama City Division: $37.98 million.
  • SOUTHCOM UFR: $18 million for traditional ISR, SOUTHCOM’s top unfunded requirement request.
  • PFAS: The NDAA also directs the SecDef to submit a report identifying the status of efforts to remediate PFAS at various locations across the U.S., including several located in Florida: Patrick Air Force Base, Naval Air Station Jacksonville, and Tyndall Air Force Base.
  • Pacific Deterrence Initiative: $7.1 billion authorized, $2 billion over the President’s Budget request.
  • Ukraine: Additional $50 million for Ukraine Security Assistance for a total of $300 million.
  • Pay and benefits: 2.7 percent pay raise for both service members and civilian workforce of the DoD. Increases parental leave to 12 weeks for birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child. Authorizes the Secretary of Defense to pay a basic needs allowance to qualified service members.
  • Rejecting vaccine discrimination: The NDAA includes language based on a bill Senator Rubio cosponsored requiring that any service member separated from the armed services for choosing not to receive the COVID-19 vaccine must receive an honorable discharge. 

 
Language requiring women to register for the draft was removed from the bill after Senator Rubio worked with colleagues to strike the language.