[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 204 (Tuesday, December 17, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1602]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               CELEBRATING THE PASSAGE OF THE FY2020 NDAA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. KENDRA S. HORN

                              of oklahoma

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 17, 2019

  Ms. KENDRA S. HORN of Oklahoma. Madam Speaker, I applaud the House 
for passing the FY20 National Defense Authorization Act in an 
overwhelming bipartisan vote. This bill includes important 
modernizations and protections for our service members, military 
families, and our nation's Armed Forces. It was an honor to represent 
Oklahomans as one of four freshmen on the House Armed Services 
Committee included at the bill's conference.
  This legislation includes a Tenants Bill of Rights to address unsafe 
housing conditions on military bases and other critical protections for 
service members in privatized base housing. I led the effort in the 
House for these protections after hearing about military housing 
problems at Tinker Air Force Base during one of my town halls. The 
Tenants Bill of Rights will protect our military families from 
predatory contracts and provide increased oversight of privatized base 
housing.
  I am proud this bill included legislation I introduced to address a 
severe shortage of pilots in both our Air Force and in the aviation 
industry. My provision would assist JROTC members in getting their 
pilot's certificate. In Oklahoma, Air Force JROTC provides specialized 
aeronautics and space education. With about 1,000 students 
participating in Air Force JROTC units alone, these programs provide an 
important and unique service to strengthen our aerospace workforce of 
the future.
  This need will only become more pronounced with the establishment of 
the United States Space Corps within the Department of the Air Force. 
As the Chair of the Space Subcommittee of the Science, Space, and 
Technology Committee, I have heard from and worked with experts who 
recognize the imminent threats that our existing space infrastructure 
face. Satellites that offer geolocation services, weather data, and 
communications are all necessary elements to our modem day 
infrastructure. Our new Space Corps will protect these interests from 
natural catastrophes while deterring aggression from those intent on 
harming U.S. national security.
  This bill also came with vital reforms to better our servicemembers 
daily lives.
  The FY20 NDAA includes a 3.1% pay increase for all military 
personnel. Members of our uniformed services have not received a pay 
raise in far too long. As a result, our servicemember have experienced 
financial difficulty and have struggled to put food on the table for 
their family members even while they serve their country. I am proud to 
represent the servicemembers of my district and thankful to have a part 
in ensuring they are well compensated.
  This bill provides 12 weeks of parental leave for all federal 
employees. A landmark policy for the U.S. government, we passed an NDAA 
that ensures all families can have the support they need in the crucial 
first month of starting or expanding their families. The US is the only 
industrialized nation without a national paid family leave policy, and 
this is a step in the right direction to ensure all families have the 
opportunity to work and take care of their families.
  It preserves funding for critical education needs. We passed a $40 
million authorization to support the schools that educate our 
servicemembers' children. The Impact Aid program has maintained schools 
in areas with small to non-existent tax bases such as Indian 
reservations and military bases. This funding increase ensures that 
every student, no matter their zip code may have equal access to an 
education.
  The passage of the FY20 NDAA also came with crucial reforms to 
streamline internal processes and ensure transparency in our Defense 
Department.
  As the sponsor of Section 1011, 1 was concerned that requiring audit 
firms to disclose confidential disciplinary proceedings could 
ultimately lead to those proceedings becoming public, contrary to the 
express intent of Congress. I sponsored an amendment that remedies that 
concern. The best way to avoid such an outcome is for the DoD to permit 
contracting accounting firms to provide relevant proceeding information 
to the Department. This preserves the confidentiality requirements of 
Sarbanes-Oxley while remaining consistent with the confidentiality 
provision included in the conference report.
  In addition, I wish to make the observation that with respect to 
Section 1011, which amends Section 1006 of the FY 2019 NDAA, the 
disclosure provision covers ``associated persons'' in addition to the 
accounting firm because it is important for the DoD to know whether 
individuals that the accounting firm assigns to work on DoD audit 
contracts are subject to ongoing disciplinary proceedings.
  This bill also addresses a major problem that has plagued our service 
members spouses for far too long. The Survivor Benefit Plan/ Dependency 
and Indemnity Compensation (SBP/DIC) offset, also known as the 
``widow's tax'' unfairly asked military spouses to forfeit money owed 
to them. More than 60,000 surviving military spouses were negatively 
affected by this tax, including many in my district. The FY20 NDAA 
repeals this reduction over a three-year phase-in, allowing surviving 
families to collect both payments in full, receiving the justice they 
deserve.
  On employment practices, I worked tirelessly to extend direct hiring 
authority to domestic defense industrial base facilities when hiring 
civilian personnel. After extensive conversations with Lieutenant 
General Donald E. Gene Kirkland, the Commander of the Air Force 
Sustainment Center, I resolved to work to stem the staffing shortages 
at these crucial bases. These staffing shortages are happening across 
the nation, and reforms are critical to meet the workforce needs of 
today and tomorrow. I am happy to note that direct hiring authority 
reform was granted for civilian personnel at domestic defense 
industrial base facilities and the Major Range and Test Facility bases 
until 2025. These necessary changes are vital to meeting our national 
security and readiness needs.
  I am also glad to note that this legislation increased the cap for 
DoD sole-source contracts that can be awarded to the tribal community. 
The cap was raised to $100 million to ensure that our Native American 
businesses and contractors are given the opportunities to provide 
services for our military effectively.
  The National Defense Authorization Act is the proud product of 
bipartisan policies and compromise and ensures the needs of our men and 
women in uniform are met on and off the battlefield. I am proud to have 
been a part of the process from subcommittee to passage and applaud my 
colleagues for achieving this reform through compromise and 
negotiation, to secure major accomplishments for all Americans while 
promoting our national security.

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