With the enactment of the bill, Washington will have authorized spending at about $858 billion on defense programs in this fiscal year, mainly at the Pentagon. That is $45 billion, or five percent, more than Biden asked for in March to counter the effects of inflation and to accelerate implementation of the National Defense Strategy. The act means a 4.6 percent pay raise for military and civilian members of the department.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the total amount of authorized funding would be about 10 percent higher than the fiscal 2022 level. The act also authorizes $30.3 billion for national security programs in the Department of Energy and the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board and $378 million for other defense-related activities.
Although inflation has been dropping, the act authorizes $12.6 billion for inflation impacts on purchases. It also funds $3.8 billion more to account for inflation in military construction. It is a testament to the size of the agency that the act authorizes $2.5 billion for inflation impacts on DOD fuel purchases.
One of the more contentious items in the act is requiring the defense secretary to rescind the mandate that members of the armed forces be vaccinated against COVID-19. “The department will fully comply with the law,” DOD officials said. “DOD remains committed to the health and safety of the force and to ensuring we are ready to execute our mission at all times.” Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III ordered the mandate on August 24, 2021. The COVID-19 vaccinations have been successful. Some 98 percent of active duty service members and 96 percent of the total force have been vaccinated. Since April, only two service members have died from COVID-19. Austin argued that the mandate is necessary to protect military readiness, and he has been clear in his support for maintaining it. Still, Congress has spoken and the department will fully comply with the NDAA, officials said.
This is the 62nd straight fiscal year that the defense policy measure has been enacted. The Senate’s final NDAA passage vote was 83-11, and 60 votes were required. The House passed the bicameral compromise on December 8.
When Armed Services Chairman Jack Reed noted that the bill is named after the committee’s top Republican, James M. Inhofe of Oklahoma, the chamber resounded with applause. Reed said that Inhofe’s committee leadership, both in the majority and minority, had been “monumental.” Inhofe is retiring at the end of this year, making this action very significant for the future of the Armed Services Committee.
Army National Guard
- Authorizes funding for ARNG to end-strength at 325,000Soldiers (Sec. 411)
- Authorizes 30,845 AGR positions
- Authorizes 22,294 Dual-Status Technicians
- Authorizes 17,000 ADOS positions
- Limits production on Extended Range Cannon Artillery Howitzers (Sec. 111)
- Authorizes $7.85 B in ARNG Operations and Maintenance (Sec. 4301) Limits production on Extended Range Cannon Artillery Howitzers (Sec. 111)
- Authorizes $7.85 B in ARNG Operations and Maintenance (Sec. 4301)
Air National Guard
- Authorizes funding for ANG to end strength at 108,400Airmen (Sec. 411)
- Authorizes 25,333 AGR positions
- Authorizes 10,994 Dual-Status Technicians
- Authorizes 16,000 ADOS positions
- Modifies Combat Air Forces Total Aircraft Inventory(Sec. 141)
- Reduces requirement from 1,970 to 1,800 total aircraft
- Reduces A-10 requirement from 171 to 153 aircraft
- Limits funds for destruction of A-10 aircraft in storage status
- Modifies Air Refueling Total Aircraft Inventory(Sec. 142)
- Reduces requirement from 479 to 466 total aircraft
- Limits reduction of reserve components KC-135 to no more than 12 aircraft
- Requires development of a plan to transfer KC-135s to the Air National Guard (Sec. 155)
- Requires minimum inventory of 271 C-130s(Sec. 146)
- Limits retirement of F-22 aircraft(Sec. 143)
- Requires minimum inventory of 184 aircraft
- Limits Divestment of F-15 aircraft(Sec. 150)
- Authorizes $6.9 B in ANG Operations and Maintenance (Sec. 4301)
- Authorizes $364.1 M in ANG Military Construction (Sec. 4601)
- $215.3 M above President’s Budget Request
Joint-Personnel
- Authorizes a 4.6 percent military and civilian personnel pay raise
- Backdates effective date of rank for reserve officers in the National Guard due to delays in Federal Recognition (Sec. 513)
- Triggers after the 100-day mark
- Implementation date: January 1, 2024
- Establishment of an independent study on Federal Recognition of National Guard Officers (Sec. 519)
- Expansion of National Guard unit/personnel inspections to include compliance with Federal law and policy applicable to the National Guard (Sec. 514)
- Includes policies issued by the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of a military department concerned, or the Chief National Guard Bureau
- Review of titling and indexing practices of the Army for servicemembers in connection to the Guard Recruiting Assistance Program (Sec. 549)
- Expansion of transitional healthcare for members of the National Guard following 502(f) orders in response to a Presidential Declared Emergency (Sec. 702)
- Requires a study on providing Tricare Reserve Select and dental benefits to members of the selected reserve (Sec. 707)
- Extends the one-year authorization of specific expiring bonuses and special pay authorities for members of the reserve components (Sec. 601)
- Extends requirement for an annual National Guard and Reserve Equipment Report (Sec. 1059)
- Expands the authority of the Secretary of Defense to transfer excess aircraft to states(Sec. 1060)
- Inclusion of Natural and Man-made Disaster response items in CNGB unfunded priorities report (Sec. 384)
- Supports National Guard training for wildfire prevention and response(Sec. 385)
- Continued National Guard support for the Fireguard program(Sec. 516)
- Enhancement of the National Guard Youth Challenge program (Sec. 517)
- Requires notice to Congress before deactivation, reassignment, or home station move of a unit in specific reserve components (Sec. 518)
- Recission of COVID-19vaccination mandate (Sec. 525)
- Expands Defense Environmental Restoration Program access to state-owned Guard facilities (Sec. 313)
- Addresses PFAS/PFOA contamination on military facilities (Sec. 341-346)
- Authority to waive the requirement that the performance of active guard and reserve duty at the request of a governor may not interfere with specific responsibilities (Sec. 515)
For more information on the FY2023 NDAA or any other National Guard issues, please do not hesitate to contact Kevin Hollinger at kevin@eangus.org or contact him direct at (202) 670-1826.