NDAA passes Congress with wins for High Desert Military Bases

Statement

The updated National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which will be signed into law in the coming days includes key initiatives for military instillations in California's 8th District. The bill also includes U.S. Congressman Jay Obernolte's (R-Hesperia) Federal Career Opportunities in Computer Science Work Act, which will require the government to create career paths in fields such as computer science and data analytics to ensure that the talented personnel needed to help combat cybercrimes are working in federal government.

"I was proud to see the National Defense Authorization Act pass with key initiatives I fought for to support the missions of our local bases, the communities surrounding them, and the cybersecurity of our nation," said Rep. Obernolte. "It also excludes several harmful items that I had concerns about in the initial House version, including red flag provisions and the creation of an "Office of Extremism' at the Department of Defense. This is a substantially better bill, and I am pleased to see it pass with bipartisan support and proceed to the President's desk."

Rep. Obernolte's Federal Career Opportunities in Computer Science Work Act, originally introduced and passed in the U.S. House of Representatives as H.R. 3533,will increase national security and speed technological advancement by improving the federal government's ability to recruit and manage experts in the data sciences. Currently, the federal government does not include occupations that allow government civilians to focus on software development, data science or artificial intelligence (AI) outside of pure research and development, a significant shortcoming in developing the capacity to respond to crisis situations that occurred this year such as the Colonial Pipeline hack and JBS meat processing hack.

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