Davis Supports Bipartisan NDAA, Includes Increased Support for Armed Forces and Davis' Counting All Military Votes Act

Press Release

U.S. Representative Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) today voted for the Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which included the language of his Counting All Military Votes Act.

"For 60 consecutive years, Democrats and Republicans have come together on a bipartisan basis to make sure our armed forces are equipped with the resources they need to keep our country safe," said Rep. Davis. "I proudly supported the bipartisan FY21 NDAA because it did just that, while increasing support for our service members and their families. I'm also glad to report that the NDAA included language from my Counting All Military Votes Act, to make sure our armed forces stationed at embassies and other diplomatic posts have their votes counted this November."

The FY21 NDAA was passed through H.R. 6395 with bipartisan supermajorities and includes the following key priorities and improvements for our armed forces:

Resources: The NDAA adheres to last year's bipartisan budget agreement and fully funds the President's budget request.

Nuclear Modernization: The NDAA fully funds vital nuclear modernization programs to ensure that our nuclear deterrent--the cornerstone of America's defense--is safe and reliable. It fully funds the B-21, a Columbia Class submarine along with an additional attack submarine, and begins work on the W93 warhead that will be critical to meet STRATCOM Commander requirements for the sea-based deterrent

Confronting China: While there is still much work to do, the NDAA lays the foundation for an Indo-Pacific Deterrence Initiative to deter China, modeled on the European Deterrence Initiative, and similar to the one Rep. Thornberry introduced this year.

Supporting Our Troops and Their Families: The NDAA supports the pay and benefits our troops and their families need, deserve, and have earned. This includes supporting a 3% pay raise. Importantly, the NDAA includes most of the Military Family Readiness Act introduced by Ranking Member Thornberry and Congressman Kelly.

COVID-19 Response: The NDAA includes several provisions addressing the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure that the Department of Defense has the diagnostic equipment, testing capabilities, and personal protective equipment necessary to protect our Armed Forces.

Counting All Military Votes Act: On traditional military bases, there are designated Express Mail Labels for Military Absentee Voting to expedite and track absentee ballots for successful, on-time delivery. These Express Mail Labels, administered by military postal operations under the Department of Defense (DoD), however, are not currently accessible to deployed active duty military serving on our embassies, consulates, and/or in diplomatic posts.

The Counting All Military Votes Act corrects this problem by ensuring that the absentee ballots of all deployed active duty military personnel serving overseas are shipped by Express Mail, as currently mandated under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). Rep. Davis introduced the legislation earlier this year through H.R. 5840.

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