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Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act. This legislation provides a topline of $768 billion, which will fund our Combatant Commanders’ unfunded priority lists, includes a 2.7-percent pay raise for our troops, prohibits funding for the Taliban, and fully funds joint Israel-U.S. missile defense programs.

This legislation also prohibits the Department of Defense from dishonorably discharging service members that decide not to get vaccinated for COVID-19, and requires the Department to establish uniform protocols for vaccine exemptions, including for those with natural immunity.

This legislation did not include many controversial components that Congressman Doug Lamborn worked to remove, including “red flag language,” the expansion of the selective service to include women, and three massive lands bills that would have implemented a massive federal land grab in Colorado.

Lamborn, the ranking member of the House Armed Services’ Subcommittee on Readiness, issued the following statement:

“I was pleased to vote for the National Defense Authorization Act, one of the most crucial pieces of legislation I work on every year. This legislation will benefit the Fifth Congressional District thanks to the concentration of space, missile defense, and new defense technologies.  The FY22 NDAA will be essential in maintaining our competitive advantage over adversaries like Russia and China. This legislation provides a pay raise to our troops, strengthens our partnership with Israel, and works to modernize our nuclear triad. This legislation includes my bill, the Chaplains Memorial Preservation Act to update the Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish chaplain memorials at Arlington National Cemetery. In addition, I supported some protections for our military members who decide not to get vaccinated, including preventing them from being dishonorably discharged. Importantly, this legislation begins to hold the Biden Administration accountable for their disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal.

“I am grateful that I was able to remove many of the partisan provisions from this legislation. Defense bills should focus on defense, not include any restrictions on our Second Amendment rights or massive federal land grabs that would negatively impact Colorado. With Russia and China moving rapidly to exploit the weakness the Biden administration is projecting, the Senate must pass this and the president must sign this vital legislation immediately.”

Congressman Mike Rogers (AL), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement:

“Rep. Lamborn has been a leader on the House Armed Services Committee. In his role as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Readiness he has been focused on making sure that our service members have the funding and tools they need to be prepared for conflict. The NDAA is the most important piece of legislation that Congress produces – it is bipartisan and bicameral and most of all it protects our national security and supports our troops. I thank Rep. Lamborn for his work on this incredibly important piece of legislation.” 

Watch Congressman Lamborn’s Floor speech in support of the FY2022 National Defense Authorization Act here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfuhzBW7zSQ

Visit lamborn.house.gov for more information.