Making Our Military Great Again

Floor Speech

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Mr. ROSE. Mr. Speaker, today, the House passed the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025, otherwise known as the Fiscal Year 2025 NDAA.

The Fiscal Year 2025 NDAA will improve the quality of life for every servicemember who serves our great country. It restores the focus of our military on lethality, not woke ideology. It improves the military's ability to recruit and train our fighting forces to be able to deter China and our other adversaries. It also increases oversight and requires accountability of the Biden administration and the Department of Defense.

All of these tremendous accomplishments are why we are here tonight, Mr. Speaker.

To speak in support of this recently passed bill that will make our military great again, I am grateful for the Members who join me this evening to discuss this important bill to protect our country and restore our national security.

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Mr. ROSE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Missouri for that heartfelt tribute and for his important remarks concerning the issue regarding the National Defense Authorization Act.

Pacific Deterrence Initiative

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Mr. ROSE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa) for sharing his thoughts on these important issues tonight, and I appreciate his remarks.

Mr. Speaker, I will close by reiterating our support of our servicemen and -women who defend our great country. Many of us have highlighted the improvement in the quality of life they will receive from the passage of this bill and it being signed into law by the President.

However, I would like to take a moment to highlight the impact it will have on Tennesseans serving in the armed services.

According to the House Armed Services Committee, this bill will provide a 14.5 percent pay raise for junior enlisted servicemembers and an average 4\1/2\ percent pay raise for Tennessee's 19,500 servicemembers.

It also expands the program to help Tennessee's 1,500 military spouses attain and retain employment.

Lastly, it expands access to childcare for the 2,800 children of military families in Tennessee.

These important provisions to increase servicemembers' pay, expand childcare services, and bolster efforts to assist military spouses are much-needed and well-deserved.

Servicemembers' families sacrifice a lot so that their loved ones can keep us safe. I am proud to support these provisions, and I am glad that they have been included in the final passage of the NDAA.

When Americans elected President Donald Trump to serve as the 47th President of the United States, they sent a clear message: We must deter our adversaries, eliminate our enemies, protect the homeland, and support our troops.

That is exactly what this National Defense Authorization Act seeks to do. We are proud to see it pass and encourage the Senate to join us in passing this important legislation so that it can be sent to the President's desk to be signed into law.

Mr. Speaker, I thank everyone who has joined me this evening, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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