WASHINGTON DC (July 12, 2019) — Today, Representative Dave Loebsack released the following statement on the House passage of the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which included provisions he authored. Rep Loebsack, a former member the House Armed Services Committee, helped incorporate several provisions in this year’s legislation that will help create jobs here at home, increase defense research, and strengthen the Rock Island Arsenal. The Senate will now consider its version of the bill and a joint House-Senate Conference Committee will convene to work out the differences between the two bills.
Rep Loebsack worked to include a provision to extend Temporary Installation Reutilization Authority for leasing excess space at Army arsenals, depots, and plants through September 30, 2025. This will allow the Rock Island Arsenal to continue leveraging private investment through long-term facility-use contracts, property management contracts, leases. or other such agreements. It would also require the Secretary of Defense to report to Congress on the information technology, logistics, and security requirements necessary to create an internal listing service of Army assets available for lease. Re[ Loebsack also authored language included in the overall bill to boost STEM jobs and address the STEM jobs gap within the Department of Defense (DoD).
Additionally, Rep Loebsack worked with the Armed Services Committee to include language in the bill report that will require the Secretary of Defense to report on the status of legislation included in last year’s defense bill that directs DoD to work with private industry and academia to accelerate development of human factors modeling and simulation technologies to support soldier training and performance. This will help strengthen cooperation between the DoD and existing human factors modeling and simulation research projects, including the University of Iowa’s Virtual Soldier Research program, further enhancing academic research and development and the University.
“Ensuring the men and women in our military have the tools and resources to properly defend our nation remains a top priority of mine. As a parent of military children, I am proud to have worked to deliver the level of support our troops need and deserve,” said Rep Loebsack. “While this legislation does not include everything I would have hoped, the amendments I worked to incorporate into the bill will help ensure the Arsenal has the tools and resources it needs to remain competitive. I am also pleased that we have taken steps to drive more workload to the Rock Island Arsenal, which helps both the Arsenal and Quad Cities create jobs and help their economy remain strong.”
Rep Loebsack helped author three provisions, which were included in the FY 2020 National Defense Authorization Act:
- Extension of Temporary Installation Reutilization Authority — This Loebsack-Bustos amendment extends the Temporary Installation Reutilization Authority for leasing excess space at Army arsenals, depots, and plants through September 30, 2025. This amendment is intended to help Army facilities, including the Rock Island Arsenal, leverage private investment through long-term facility-use contracts, property management contracts, leases, or other such agreements. The extended-leasing authority is designed to utilize unused administrative and warehouse space on the Island, helping to bring workload and continued employment to the Island. The amendment also requires the Secretary of Defense to report to Congress on the information technology, logistics, and security requirements necessary to create an internal listing service of Army assets available for lease. This reporting requirement will help shed light on the feasibility of creating an internal listing service that could facilitate greater and more streamlined use of the leasing authority between Army facilities and private entities.
- STEM Jobs — This amendment directs the Secretary of Defense to perform an assessment of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, as well as Maintenance and Manufacturing (STEM) workforce within the DoD, identify the types and quantities of STEM jobs needed to support future mission work, and develop a plan of action to address the STEM jobs gap. These jobs are a critical part of the organic industrial base workforce, and this amendment enhances the mission and the role of our nation’s arsenals and depots to ensure that maintenance and manufacturing are recognized as specialized, protected skills that DoD retains and protects. Reps Bustos and Porter joined in support of this amendment as well.
- Human Factors Modeling and Simulation — This report language will require the Secretary of Defense to report to Congress on the implementation status of a provision included in the FY19 NDAA, which required the Secretary of Defense to develop and carry out human-factors modeling and simulation-activities to accelerating research and development that enhances capabilities for human performance, human-systems integration, and training for the warfighter. Under this reporting requirement, DoD will be required to brief Congress on the status of this requirement, specifically to what extent the activities are being carried out, the effects of these activities, activity participants such as academia and the private sector, locations of the activities, and the plan to sustain these activities in the future. This language will help ensure that human-factors modeling and simulation-research activities, like the University of Iowa’s Virtual Soldier Research program, are being utilized by the Defense Department to enhance training practices and improve outcomes for our nation’s warfighters. Senator Joni Ernst successfully included identical language in the Senate-passed version of the bill.
Additionally, Rep Loebsack pushed to include many provisions important to our troops and their families, including:
- Provides for a 3.1 percent pay increase for the troops;
- Repeals the “widow’s tax” which requires military surviving spouses to forfeit all or part of their military Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) annuity if they become eligible for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) payments when their spouse dies;
- Creates greater protections for military families by establishing a tenant’s bill of rights for residents of privatized military housing, requiring DoD to identify and measure health and safety hazards in housing, and providing additional funding to improve oversight and management of military family housing; and
- Prohibits an additional round of BRAC.
