U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement after voting YES on the bipartisan Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The Fiscal Year 2024 NDAA authorizes a topline of $876.8 billion for military and national security programs at the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Energy. Within the legislation, Senator Mullin secured $170 million worth of projects for Oklahoma’s military installations.
“America is home to the greatest military in the world, and it’s Congress’ great responsibility to keep it that way,” said Sen. Mullin. “Our constitutional duty to provide for the common defense starts with support for our servicemen and women. This legislation takes care of America’s warfighters and their families, invests in Oklahoma’s world class installations, and strengthens U.S. defense capabilities to counter threats from adversaries like Communist China.”
“Oklahoma plays a critical role in our nation’s military readiness,” Sen. Mullin continued. “Our five world-class installations have been instrumental in training America’s warfighters. It’s my great responsibility to ensure our five installations have the resources they need to maintain Oklahoma’s proud military legacy, and I’m glad that we were able to land significant victories for our state and our country in this year’s NDAA.”
“I want to thank Ranking Member Senator Roger Wicker as well as my colleagues on the Armed Services Committee for their efforts, and for working with us to ensure Oklahoma’s needs are met,” Sen. Mullin concluded. “Defense authorizations and associated funding are a responsibility I do not take lightly, and I am proud of the progress made with this year’s bill. May God continue to bless our troops and our great nation.”
Mullin championed the following victories included in the FY2024 NDAA:
- $78 million for Tinker Air Force Base’s 3-Bay KC-46 Depot Maintenance Hangar
- $76.65 million for Fort Sill’s Microgrid and Backup Power project
- $5 million for OSU’s Counter-UAS Center of Excellence
- $8.4 million for Vance Air Force Base’s Consolidated Undergraduate Pilot Training Center planning and design
- The bill contains a prohibition on divesting of T-1A training aircraft until the U.S. Air Force can certify that simulators are equally or more effective than the current program, which keeps Vance AFB’s flying training mission alive
- $1.194 million for McAlester Army Ammunition Plant’s new Water Treatment Plant planning and design
- The bill meets the President’s Budget Request for munitions procurement across all service branches, including $150.8 million for 155MM ammunition, some of which is made at McAlester Army Ammunition Plant
- $5 million plus up for OU’s Additive manufacturing of aerospace parts research partnership
- $400K for The Army National Guard Ardmore Readiness Center’s vehicle maintenance shop
- 5.2 percent pay raise for service members to offset inflation
Mullin amendments include:
- To require the DOD to ensure all promotions, assignments, and other personnel actions of the Armed Forces are based primarily on qualifications, performance, and merit
- To Prohibit the DOD from requiring members of the Armed Forces or civilian employees of the DOD to list their gender or pronouns in official correspondence, including email signatures
- To recommend an increase of $20 million for the accelerated development, testing, and procurement of autonomous attritable aircraft to support agile combat deployment
- To direct the Secretaries of each of the military departments to submit a report to HASC and SASC explaining in detail how the individual departments conduct their initial review and whether or not they require a neutral third-party and why
Read a full summary of the FY2024 NDAA here. Full text of the bill can be found here.
