Congressman David Scott Votes to Fund Pay Raise for Military Servicemembers, Strengthen National Security

Statement

Congressman David Scott (GA-13) provided the following statement in support of S. 1790, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2020:

"I am proud to vote in support of the bipartisan FY2020 NDAA Conference bill, which provides $738 billion for the U.S. Department of Defense. Our troops and their families deserve the best compensation, care, and benefits available, and securing this defense funding is critical for strengthening national security and advancing biomedical research to provide new treatments for veterans.

"This bipartisan, bicameral bill includes a 3.1.% pay raise for military servicemembers, the largest military pay increase in a decade, and 12 weeks of paid parental leave for all federal civilian employees, including over 65,000 federal civilian employees in Georgia. This robust defense package repeals the SBP-DIC offset (also known as the widow's tax) over three years for all of our nation's Gold Star families. Additionally, new comprehensive mental health care services will be available to military servicemembers, as well as a one-year deployment deferment for active-duty mothers after childbirth.

"The NDAA will also provide $347.75 million for the Defense Health Program, $10 million for the Cyber Excepted Service (CES) for cybersecurity workforce development, and $500 million in defense-related foreign assistance for Israel."

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