John Katko

09/24/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/24/2021 09:01

Nine Katko-Authored Bills & Key Wins for Central New York Pass House in NDAA

WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. John Katko (NY-24) today announced nine measures he authored and critical funding levels for local manufacturers and workers were included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2022. This bipartisan legislation, which Rep. Katko voted in support of, authorizes the budget and expenditures for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) for Fiscal Year 2022.

For U.S. servicemembers, the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2022 authorizes a 2.7% pay increase, expands parental leave and childcare programs, and reverses the Biden Administration's cuts to military healthcare programs. Importantly for Central New York, the NDAA includes bills Katko introduced to combat Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses, eliminate workforce barriers for immigrant families, and address cases of sexual harassment in public housing. The NDAA also includes Rep. Katko's Onward to Opportunity Act, a measure inspired by programming offered by the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) at Syracuse University. Katko's bill builds off the IVMF's successes by creating a pilot program within the DoD to expand workforce development services for servicemembers, veterans, and their spouses.

"I'm pleased to announce the NDAA passed in the House with nine bills I authored and federal funding I advocated for to support Central New York's workforce," said Rep. Katko. "Critically for our region, the NDAA includes bills I introduced to combat Lyme disease, eliminate workforce barriers for new Americans, address cases of sexual harassment in public housing, and expand workforce development services for servicemembers, veterans, and their spouses. I'm proud the measures I authored within the NDAA will make important progress on pressing issues in Central New York."

"Each day in the House of Representatives, Congressman Katko is hard at work fighting for the men and women of Central New York. From helping military families better transition to civilian life to increasing awareness about tenants' rights and preventing sexual harassment in housing, Congressman Katko is razor-focused on crafting commonsense solutions that will help all Americans," said House Republican Whip Steve Scalise. "I applaud Congressman Katko for authoring these nine measures that are essential to strengthening our national security and making Central New York a better place to live."

Summaries of Katko-authored measures included in NDAA can be found below:

  • Onward to Opportunity Act : This legislation would build off Syracuse University's IVMF successes by authorizing the Department of Defense (DoD) to establish a pilot program to support the expansion of Onward to Opportunity programs at five additional U.S. Military bases. The pilot program would require DoD to partner with private organizations, such as the Syracuse University's IVMF, with existing and effective economic development and readiness programs that help military families make a more seamless transition to civilian life by expanding workforce development services for servicemembers, veterans, and their spouses.
  • Improving Opportunities for New Americans Act: This legislation would direct the Department of Labor to conduct a comprehensive study of barriers to employment facing immigrants, including Afghan SIVs, who travel to the U.S. with professional credentials and degrees from other countries.
  • Tick Identification Pilot Program Act of 2021: This legislation would establish a pilot program under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) allowing states to apply for grants to establish tick identification programs. Through these programs, individuals would be able to send pictures of a tick they encounter to a vector-borne biologist who would identify the tick and respond with an estimate of the risk that the tick is carrying a disease, as well as a recommendation for appropriate follow-up action, such as seeking medical treatment.
  • Preventing Sexual Harassment in Public Housing Act of 2020< /a>: This legislation would require HUD to report the number of reported sexual harassment incidents in public housing, independent of other cases of discrimination based on sex. Additionally, this bill would codify into law the Department of Justice's Sexual Harassment in Housing Initiative that was established in 2017. This initiative works to both increase awareness about tenants' rights and to prosecute cases of sexual harassment in housing.
  • DHS Industrial Control Systems Capabilities Enhancement Act : This legislation amends the Homeland Security Act to require the Director of CISA to maintain capabilities to detect and mitigate threats and vulnerabilities affecting automated control of critical infrastructure, particularly industrial control systems. This includes maintaining cross-sector incident response capabilities to respond to cybersecurity incidents and providing cybersecurity technical assistance to stakeholders. Lastly, the CISA Director is required to collect, coordinate, and provide vulnerability information to the industrial control systems community.
  • Domains Critical to Homeland Security Ac t: This legislation would require DHS to analyze the risk of each identified critical domain for economic security and determine whether there exists a present or future threat to homeland security in the event of disruption, corruption, or dysfunction to such domain. Additionally H.R. 3264 would require the Secretary of Homeland Security to produce an annual report on the risk analysis conducted, including the vulnerability of critical supply chains, foreign manufacturing, foreign economic influence, asset ownership, and supply chain relationships.
  • Trusted Traveler Redress and Reconsiderati on: This legislation provides relief for individuals who have had their Trusted Traveler Program status erroneously revoked or suspended due to an error committed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
  • Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2021: This legislation would establish a Cyber Incident Review Office (CIR Office) within the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and require critical infrastructure owners and operators to report cybersecurity incidents to the CIR Office.
  • Industrial Control System Security Act of 2021: This legislation would authorize the CyberSentry program at CISA. The bill authorizes the Director to provide, on a voluntary basis and at request of the entity, continuous monitoring, and detection of cybersecurity risks to critical infrastructure entities that own or operate industrial control systems that support national critical functions.

Additionally, Rep. Katko supported the following funding levels in the NDAA, which directly benefit Central New York:

  • $314 million for the Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block 2, with components supplied by Lockheed Martin in Central New York.
  • $127 million for the Army Sentinel Radar, with components supplied by Lockheed Martin in Central New York.
  • $26 million for the Army Q-53 Radar, with components supplied by Lockheed Martin in Central New York.
  • $32 million for the Army Terrestrial Layer Systems (LTS), with components supplied by Lockheed Martin in Central New York.
  • $191 million for the Navy E-2D Hawkeye, with components supplied by Lockheed Martin in Central New York.
  • $62 million for U.S. Special Operations Command Tactical Communications, with components supplied by L3Harris.
  • $730 million for Handheld Manpack Small Form Factor Radios, with components supplied by L3Harris.
  • $444 million for Marine Corps Radio Systems, with components supplied by L3Harris.

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