Senator Ricketts’ Weekly Column: Providing For Our Common Defense

One of the federal government’s most important priorities is to provide for the common defense. It’s right there in the preamble to the Constitution. That starts with making sure our women and men in uniform have what they need to keep us safe. I’m proud to support them in that effort.

Recently, my colleagues and I passed the National Defense Authorization Act – or NDAA. It authorizes $895 billion for national defense next year. It gives a 14.5% pay raise for junior enlisted service members and a 4.5% pay raise to all other servicemembers. It authorizes critical funding for modernizing our nuclear triad. This includes funding for the Sentinel ICBM system, parts of which are hosted here in Nebraska. And it includes elements of my bipartisan BOLSTER Act, which will strengthen European support for Taiwan’s efforts to deter the People’s Republic of China. 

This year’s NDAA supports important missions in Nebraska. It authorizes funding to plan and design various facilities at Offutt Air Force Base. $158 million to permanently base the Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC) aircraft fleet, for example. $6 million is authorized for a Consolidated Training Complex and Professional Development Center. 

In addition, the bill authorizes $3 million to support the innovative NC3 Rapid Engineering Architecture Collaboration Hub (REACH) program here in Nebraska. And it authorizes $5 million in research and development funding for the 557th Weather Wing. 

Finally, this NDAA supports our allies as we work together to deter our adversaries. It fully funds our missile defense programs in cooperation with Israel. It authorizes $15.6 billion to strengthen our deterrence against the People’s Republic of China in the Indo-Pacific. My BOLSTER Act will help with this, also. 

Passing this bill was important. But it shouldn’t have taken this long. The Senate Armed Services Committee – including Senator Deb Fischer – passed its version of the NDAA six months ago. That vote was overwhelmingly bipartisan. 

So why didn’t the Senate take this up immediately? Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is to blame. He believed holding show votes and confirming Biden nominees was more important than our national defense. That’s wrong. His procrastination sent the wrong signal to our adversaries. It also delayed starting critical negotiations with the House on a final bill. 

Our women and men in uniform should be our first priority, not our last. 

We could and should have passed this bill weeks ago. Not the last work week of the year. 

Change is coming. We must ensure that nothing comes before keeping our country safe. 

We live in the most dangerous period in our country’s history since World War II. The People’s Republic of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea need to be deterred. This NDAA focuses on deterring aggression and keeping Americans safe. It’s one way we help restore American strength. 

I’m incredibly grateful to Senator Deb Fischer and Congressman Don Bacon for their leadership on the Armed Services Committees. I’m proud to work with them to deliver results for Nebraskans. I’ll continue working to give our military the tools it needs to keep us safe.