House advances National Defense Authorization Act

The U.S. House of Representatives approved the fiscal year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) – which sets policies for the military and authorizes funding passed.

The bill advanced the House 377 to 48.

“As a conferee on the FY2020 NDAA Conference Committee, I was proud to secure two pieces of legislation I previously introduced this Congress into the final version of the bill – the Otto Warmbier North Korea Nuclear Sanctions and Enforcement Act and the Protecting Europe’s Energy Security Act,” Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) said. “My North Korea sanctions provisions – titled in honor of the late Otto Warmbier, who was unjustly imprisoned and later died as a result of his mistreatment by the Kim regime – imposes the toughest financial sanctions ever directed at North Korea in order to cut off Pyongyang’s ability to finance its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Additionally, my Nord Stream 2 provision imposes sanctions on persons involved in the construction of the Nord Stream 2 or TurkStream natural gas pipeline projects, which are being supported by Russia to spread its malign influence into Europe and undermine the energy security of our NATO allies.”

The NDAA included a 3.1 percent pay raise for servicemembers, a three-year phased repeal of the Survivor Benefit Plan/Dependency and Indemnity Compensation offset, and provisions to provide 12 weeks of paid parental leave to all federal civilian employees.

“I was proud to vote for this bipartisan agreement that not only cracks down on the malign actions of adversaries like North Korea and Russia but gives our servicemembers the largest pay raise in a decade and provides for a number of critical activities in the Sixth District that support our national defense,” Barr said.