Finkenauer Votes to Increase Military Pay, Improve University Partnerships with NDAA Reauthorization

Press Release

Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer (IA-01) voted Tuesday to pass the bipartisan William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021. Among many provisions, the legislation provides a pay raise to the men and women of our Armed Forces, expands paid parental leave for civilian employees and strengthens the nation's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NDAA passed the House Tuesday on a bipartisan 295-125 vote, with over 100 lawmakers from each party voting in favor of the bill.

"I'm proud to come together with my colleagues to pass a bipartisan, common-sense defense reauthorization that increases pay for the hard-working men and women serving our country at home and overseas," Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer said. "This legislation includes several critical provisions -- among them correcting an oversight that denied paid family leave benefits to some federal civilian employees. Congress is at its best when we overcome politics to improve the lives of the folks we serve."

Finkenauer Amendment Included in NDAA

Finkenauer also secured an amendment to the NDAA to improve the transfer of technical expertise between universities and the Department of Defense (DoD). This change will directly impact the University of Northern Iowa's STAR4D Military Painter and Training Program -- a certification program at UNI that trains painters on how to properly paint equipment for the U.S. Armed Forces. The painting techniques taught at UNI's STAR4D program help prevent corrosion, extend equipment lifespan, and save the Armed Forces money.

The amendment ensures programs like UNI's are included in DoD partnerships with universities, and allows the Department to enter such contracts until 2026.

"The STAR4D program at the University of Northern Iowa is a point of pride for not only the Cedar Falls community, but all of Iowa," Finkenauer said. "Our amendment will make it easier to continue this nearly two-decades-old partnership between a world-class program and our Armed Forces for years to come."

"This is a big step forward for the safety and support of our nation's military. Colleges and universities are essential for the integration of cutting-edge resources that protect soldiers and ensure the effectiveness of mission-critical operations," University of Northern Iowa Assistant to the President Andrew Morse said. "Today's action will enhance the innovation-to-military pipeline for UNI's high-demand advanced manufacturing and corrosion prevention research and services."

Background on the National Defense Authorization Act:

The FY21 NDAA creates a Pandemic Preparedness and Resilience National Security Fund, directing $1 billion to efforts to proactively increase the country's ability to prepare for and respond to future pandemics.

The FY21 NDAA has strong provisions to take care of our troops and our military families -- authorizing support for a 3.0 percent pay raise, authorizing increased funding to clean up contamination of drinking water on our military bases by PFAS chemicals, continuing to invest in improving the oversight and management of housing for military personnel and their families, making improvements to sexual assault prevention and response programs, and developing several key programs to promote and enhance diversity and inclusion programs in our military.

The bill establishes Chief Diversity Officer reporting directly to the Secretary of Defense as well as establishing a Chief Diversity Officer in each of the military services reporting directly to the Secretary of that service, to include the Coast Guard. The bill also requires the Secretary of Defense to establish a Diversity and Inclusion Council to help develop a strategy to be included in the National Defense Strategy to increase diversity in the military mirroring the US population.

The bill makes corrections to the paid parental leave benefit provided through the FY 2020 National Defense Authorization Act to ensure that the FAA, Department of Veterans Affairs, and certain other civilian employees inadvertently omitted from the legislation receive the paid parental leave benefit.

A summary of the provisions in the FY21 NDAA is available here.

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