Rep. Panetta’s Statement on the FY25 National Defense Authorization Act

Monterey, CA - United States Representative Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, released the following statement on the Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA):

"As a veteran and member of the House Armed Services Committee, I take seriously my responsibility to pass meaningful legislation to benefit the servicemembers and installations in California's 19^th Congressional District, fortify our commitment to military families, protect our national defense, and uphold our shared values. With the FY25 National Defense Authorization Act, I am proud to have advanced provisions to cement our home as at the forefront of defense innovation, research, and education. Through provisions that construct the Naval Innovation Center at the Naval Postgraduate School, provide new educational opportunities and research consortiums in areas like additive manufacturing and special operations, improve infrastructure at our military installations, and expand quality of life provisions to address areas like food security and spousal employment, the FY25 NDAA will have a significant impact on the wellbeing of military families in California's 19^th Congressional District and bolster our competitive edge.

"The FY25 NDAA represents one of the most significant steps forward in that effort, delivering a 14.5 percent pay raise for junior enlisted service members and 4.5 percent pay raise for all other service members, expanding the Basic Needs Allowance for military families to help lift more than 320,000 active-duty service members out of food insecurity, ensuring housing allowances are adjusted for high-cost duty stations and account for location-specific items such as groceries and utilities, provide more than $1.5 billion to build and replace failing military housing and barracks, and expand servicemember health care, childcare, and spousal employment support for the 21% who currently face unemployment.

"I am deeply disappointed that, despite a bipartisan focus on helping military families, Republican leadership included a highly partisan provision that undermines medical care for military families with trans-youth. Doing so places a new burden on these families who have sacrificed so much in the service of our country and needlessly inserts the federal government into the private medical decisions of families and their doctors. I opposed this provision because I believe that our commitment to military families means ensuring transgender dependents of our servicemembers have access to the healthcare they need. I continue to push for the passage of my Armed Forces Transgender Dependent Protection Act which would prevent the Department of Defense from stationing service members and their transgender dependents in states that restrict vital gender affirming care. I intend to keep fighting for this vital piece of legislation.

"In choosing divided government, the American people have communicated their desire for elected leaders to compromise and work together. The vast majority of policies in the FY25 NDAA accomplish that mandate, making progress on quality of life for our men and women in uniform as well as key national defense priorities. For those reasons, I voted in favor of this legislation. However, this is not the end of this fight. The work of a legislator is to keep advocating to change policies that fail to reflect our shared values, to build coalitions to solve collective problems, and to be a voice for those we serve. As always, as the United States Representative for California's 19^th Congressional District, I intend to continue this work in the years ahead."

The FY25 National Defense Authorization Act includes the following provisions from Representative Panetta that support California's 19^th Congressional District.

For a full report on Rep. Panetta's accomplishments for California's 19^th Congressional District in the FY25 NDAA click: HERE.

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