Press Releases

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Donna Shalala (D-FL) joined with her colleagues in passing the Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a bill that will focus on improving America’s defenses as our nation grapples with a once-in-a-generation health crisis and social upheaval  against the backdrop of sustained systemic discrimination.

“This year’s NDAA will not only improve America’s long-term defense and national security, it will also make strides to ensure that our military better reflects our country’s values of diversity and equality,” said Rep. Shalala. “I’m particularly proud to have secured several bipartisan provisions in the bill, including an amendment ensuring surviving Gold Star spouses with children receive access to on-base MWR (Morale, Welfare and Recreation), commissary and exchange benefits. These families deserve our unquestionable support in honor of their loved one’s sacrifice for our freedom and security.” 

Four of Rep. Shalala’s amendments were included in the final passage of the NDAA. The first, a bipartisan amendment supported by Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) and other members of the Florida delegation,  requires the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense to submit to Congress a report regarding the political, economic, health, and humanitarian crises in Venezuela and its implications for the United States’ national security.

The second amendment establishes limitations on funding to academic institutions with Confucius Institutes (CI) unless the institution of higher learning hosting the CI ensures that any agreement includes provisions to protect academic freedom at the institution. CIs are cultural and language exchange programs at universities in the United States and other countries that are funded by the Chinese Communist government. The amendment also prohibits the application of any foreign law on any campus of the institution.

The third amendment provides that the Defense Production Act be used to meet the country’s most critical needs to combat COVID-19. It requires oversight of pricing levels for critical materials, determination of a testing target level for each state, a point person for improved coordination between the private sector and the federal government, and requires a strategic plan for production of personal protective equipment and other supplies needed to reduce the impact of COVID-19 now and in the future.

In addition to executing Congress’ important constitutional obligation to “provide for the common defense,” the FY21 NDAA also outlines several other important provisions, such as:

• Giving Our Troops a Pay Raise & Protecting Their Safety by authorizing a 3 percent military pay raise, protecting their health by cleaning up so-called PFAS forever chemicals, investing in housing improvements for military members and families and advancing justice in safety with improvements to sexual assault prevention and response;
• Strengthening America’s Health & Economic Security with important fixes to expand paid parental leave for certain federal civilian employees inadvertently omitted originally, initiatives to combat the climate crisis, and proactively strengthening our nation’s defenses to future pandemics, including with a $1 billion Pandemic Preparedness and Resilience National Security Fund;
• Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic by proactively strengthening our nation’s defenses to pandemics including with a $1 billion Pandemic Preparedness and Resilience National Security Fund, boosting America’s industrial base resilience, helping Maritime Security Program carriers keep ships fully crewed during COVID-19, supporting NATO’s multinational response to the pandemic and provides funds to the Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) Program with an increased focus on cooperative biological engagement to detect and confront biological threats;
• Removing the Names of Confederates from Our Military Bases by requiring DOD to identify and report on a process to change the names of all military bases and infrastructure named for individuals who took up arms against America by serving in the Confederacy, with the process to be completed in one year as well as prohibiting the public display of the Confederate flag on Department of Defense installations;
• Creating a More Diverse Military by creating a Special Investigator focused on combating racial disparities in the Military Justice System and in personnel policies and practices, establishing Chief Diversity Officers throughout the military, and creating initiatives for increasing representation of women and minorities in the military services;
• Advancing our Values by prohibiting use of DOD funds to provide support to the Saudi-led coalition for strikes in Yemen, limiting the funding under the national emergency military construction authority to prevent its misuse on the President’s wasteful border wall, and not containing any restrictions on transferring detainees from Guantanamo Bay.

Click here for a full or short summary of the FY21 NDAA and its provisions.

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