What the Defense Bill Means for Texas

U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) released the following statement after securing multiple priorities for Texas in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024 to support Texas servicemembers, military installations, and ongoing national security efforts. Below is a list of Sen. Cornyn’s legislation and other Texas-specific provisions included in the Senate’s version of the NDAA.  

“Given the state of today’s world, preserving our military readiness has never been more important,” said Sen. Cornyn. “The defense authorization bill helps strengthen our alliances, modernizes our military facilities, and makes sure Texas servicemembers get the benefits they are due, and I am glad to support this legislation to prepare our military for the threats of tomorrow.”  

Sen. Cornyn’s legislation passed as part of the NDAA:

Other Texas-specific provisions include:

  • Raises troops’ pay by 5.2%.
  • Authorizes $230 million for military construction projects in Texas, including:
    • $74 million to Fort Bliss in El Paso for rail yard improvements to help the military receive and deploy equipment more efficiently
    • $65.5 million to Fort Cavazos:
      • $20 million for the planning and design of new barracks
      • $37 million for power generation improvement projects and securing the energy grid
      • $2.7 million for a new multipurpose training building
      • $5.8 million for tactical equipment maintenance facilities
    • $6.7 million to the Texas National Guard in Fort Worth:
      • $6.4 million for an aircraft maintenance hangar
      • $381,000 to upgrade maintenance facilities used to care for their trucks and tactical vehicles
    • $20 million to Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland for a child development center
    • $10.8 million to Joint Base San Antonio for an F-16 Mission Training Center
    • $16 million to Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth for a logistics warehouse to provide increased capacity and contribute to operational readiness 
  • Authorizes $35 million to the Pantex Plant, Panhandle, Texas for the Analytic Gas Laboratory
  • Includes over $5 billion to maintain air superiority and support the production rate, modernization, and readiness of the F-35 fleet built at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth
  • Supports Texas job creation at major contractors and suppliers from multiple industries
Issues: 
TexasGOPVote
 

© 2015 TexasGOPVote  | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy