Source: United States Senator for Ohio Rob Portman
FY 2023 NDAA Includes 12 Key Portman Initiatives
December 15, 2022 | Press Releases
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) applauded the Senate passage of the fiscal year (FY) 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The final bill, which passed the House of Representatives last week, authorizes a historic $858 billion for national defense. Within the broader legislation contain six Portman priorities and six pieces of Portman legislation.
“I am pleased that the Senate has passed the FY 2023 NDAA, historic funding critical to strengthening this country’s national defense and supporting our troops all around the world,” said Portman. “I fought to include a number of key priorities, including legislation to further support Ukraine in its fight for freedom, counter North Korea’s repressive regime, benefit the state of Ohio by improving the Lake Erie ecosystem and supporting the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center in Lima – just to name a few. I look forward to the president signing this important legislation into law.”
NOTE: Portman initiatives in the FY 2023 NDAA include:
- Otto Warmbier Countering North Korean Censorship and Surveillance Act – bipartisan legislation authorizing $10 million annually for the next five years to counter North Korea’s repressive censorship and surveillance state. The bill is named after Otto Warmbier, a Cincinnati, Ohio, native who was wrongfully imprisoned by the brutal North Korean regime and died as a result of the injuries he sustained while in custody.
- Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative – the FY 2023 NDAA authorizes $800 million in funding. This is an increase from the $300 million included in last year’s NDAA and the President’s budget request, and it is intended to supplement anticipated USAI funding provided to Ukraine in a future spending package.
- Abrams Tanks, Stryker Vehicles, and Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense – the FY 2023 NDAA includes $1.2 billion in funding to upgrade Abrams tanks, which will continue the production of the M1A2 SEPv3 upgraded Abrams tanks at the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center (JSMC) in Lima, Ohio. The bill also includes $891.2 million for upgrading Stryker Vehicles and $410.8 million to produce Stryker chassis to support the Army’s Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense (M-SHORAD) program.
- Prohibition of using funds to recognize Russian sovereignty over Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, or Donetsk Oblasts – Amends the longstanding prohibition on the use of funds to recognize Russian sovereignty over Crimea to also include the territories that Russia illegally attempted to annex in September of this year.
- National Space Intelligence Center (NSIC) – Includes a reporting requirement that will describe the impact of NSIC not being properly designated as a field operating agency.
- Rickenbacker Small Arms Range – Authorizes $8 million for a new small arms range at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base.
- Christian Ward Act – Includes a bipartisan amendment authored with Senator Brown to, when the property of a deceased servicemember is lost, damaged, or destroyed, permits the Secretary of Defense to reimburse the family (or designated recipient) for the fair market value of the property, and also permit the Secretary to pursue a claim against the third party.
- Tropical Forest Conservation Act – bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the TFCA program through FY 2027 at $20 million per year. The TFCA program has saved over 67 million acres of tropical forest by allowing developing countries that meet certain political and economic criteria to be relieved of debt owed to the United States in exchange for their conservation efforts.
- Eliminate, Neutralize, and Disrupt (END) Wildlife Trafficking Reauthorization and Improvements Act – bipartisan legislation to combat international wildlife trafficking and strengthen interagency efforts to tackle the issue. This legislation would reauthorize the END Wildlife Trafficking Act, which was signed into law in 2016, as well as expand the duties of the Presidential Task Force on Wildlife Trafficking and related reports on major wildlife trafficking countries.
- Lake Erie Water Quality Protection Act – bipartisan legislation directing the Army Corps to prioritize the development of dredge material management plans for Ohio’s eight harbors along Lake Erie that adhere to the State of Ohio’s water quality laws.
- Aquatic Invasive Species Control Act – bipartisan legislation to expand the Army Corps’ Aquatic Plant Control Program to include the Lake Erie Basin and the Ohio River Basin, and directs the Corps to prioritize hydrilla projects.
- Fighting Emerging Narcotics through Additional Nations to Yield Lasting (FENTANYL) Results Act – bipartisan legislation to authorizes two programs through the State Department that would build foreign law enforcement capacity to detect synthetic drugs and carry out an international exchange program for drug demand reduction experts.
###