NORFOLK, Va. - Local lawmakers are touting the benefits of the National Defense Authorization Act, which funds the Dept. of Defense each year.
The House of Representatives passed the annual spending bill on Thursday. The Senate is expected to take up the legislation shortly.
The bill includes a 4.6-percent raise for service members as well as millions of dollars for military construction, like $125 million for the construction of a submarine pier at Naval Station Norfolk.
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"I'm particularly proud of the pay raise for service members, some of the steps we've taken to make life easier for military families, and significant military construction projects that are going on around Virginia and around the country," Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) said.
The bill also has provisions addressing mental health. It requires the Inspector General of the Dept. of Defense to detail a report of incidents of suicides and attempted suicide among Sailors. It also requires an examination of Navy mental health teams.
The Navy has once again faced scrutiny following the suicides of several Sailors assigned to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center. Earlier this year, several assigned to the USS George Washington also died by suicide.
"There are too many people in our services who may be having challenging mental issues," said Sen. Mark Warner (D-Virginia). "While I think we have a lot of mental health services out there, we still find that there is a stigma for our service members to actually access those services. We have to do a better job on this."
The bill also ends the requirement for service members to be vaccinated against COVID-19. "I'm not happy with that, however, I don't think that in it of itself as a negative in this bill is sufficient to warrant voting against this bill," said Kaine.
The $858 billion bill is $45 billion more than the original request from the Biden Administration.
Outgoing Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Virginia) had originally blasted the Biden Administration for decommissioning ships, including locally based ones. "I will always say we can and should continue to do more in the future. I trust my colleagues to make those investments as we move forward," she said.
