Service Members win big With FY25 NDAA Passage

House Republicans are cheering today with the passage of FY25 NDAA, a bill that prioritizes service members. The H.R. 8070 Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2025 bill passed with overwhelming support from Republicans.

Florida Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R), a senior member of the House Committee on Appropriations, released a statement shortly after the bill passed. Affirming that "the United States must be fully committed to addressing the wide-ranging geopolitical challenges of our time," the bill helps in doing so by ensuring "an important step toward fulfilling the commitment that our military has the resources needed to confront these challenges worldwide."

Rep. Diaz-Balart went on to explain that the bill "puts our servicemen and women first, providing them with expanded access to health and childcare, improved housing conditions, employment support to military spouses, and a 19.5% pay raise for junior servicemembers." The investments made will the bill are an effort to "increase retention rates, ensuring that talented individuals remain in the service."

The NDAA will also address concerns with countries like China and Iran "by supporting the defense capabilities of key allies such as Taiwan and Israel."

Florida Rep. Laurel Lee (R) also weighed in on the passage of the bill, commenting that "the most fundamental responsibility of the federal government is to keep our nation safe, and this bipartisan FY 25 NDAA is a critical bill to fund our military, protect our national security against adversaries, and support our servicemen and women here in Florida and around the world." Rep. Lee further  shared that "it will also crack down on waste, fraud, and abuse, saving taxpayers billions of dollars."

Aside from both Reps. Diaz-Balart and Lee, Florida Reps. Aaron Bean (R), Gus Bilirakis (R), Vern Buchanan (R), Kat Cammack (R), Byron Donalds (R), Neal Dunn (R), Scott Franklin (R), Matt Gaeta (R), Carlos Gimenez (R), Anna Paulina Luna (R), Brian Mast (R), Cory Mills (R), Bill Posey (R), John Rutherford (R), María Elvira Salazar (R), Greg Steube (R), Mike Waltz (R), and Daniel Webster (R) voted in favor of the bill.

Florida Reps. Kathy Castor (R), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D), Lois Frankel (D), Maxwell Frost (D), Jared Moskowitz (D), Darren Soto (D), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D), and Frederica Wilson (D) voted against the bill.