Kaine Statement On National Defense Bill Becoming Law, Including Kaine’s Bill To Improve Resilience At Military Facilities

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement after President Biden signed the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) — which includes Kaine’s EMBRACE Act, legislation to protect our nation’s military installations and environment from the effects of climate change. The NDAA also contains numerous provisions Kaine championed to support Virginia’s defense community, shipbuilding industry, and victims of sexual assault:

"I applaud the President for signing the national defense bill, an annual bipartisan effort to provide our Armed Forces with the resources necessary to defend our nation,” said Senator Kaine. “As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I was proud to successfully push for the inclusion of many Virginia priorities in the bill, including my EMBRACE Act. This important legislation will improve climate resiliency at the numerous Virginia military facilities at risk of flooding and protect vital ecosystems like the Chesapeake Bay.”

The following list includes many of the priorities Kaine advocated that are included in the final bill:

Topline: An additional $25 billion to the President’s budget, funding many of the military services’ unfunded requirements.

Resilience at Military Facilities: The bill includes Senator Kaine’s Enhancing Military Base Resilience and Conserving Ecosystems through Stormwater Management (EMBRACE) Act, legislation to authorize the Department of Defense to carry out stormwater management projects at military installations to improve resilience at the facilities while protecting waterways and stormwater-impacted ecosystems, such as those that feed into the Chesapeake Bay.

Shipbuilding: The bill includes over $27 billion for shipbuilding, an increase of over $4 billion, to purchase 2 Virginia class submarines, 3 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, 1 Constellation-class Frigate and 2 Expeditionary Fast Transport, and other support ships. The bill also provides over $12.5 billion for ship maintenance and repair at public and private shipyards.

Military Construction: Includes over $13 billion for Military Construction projects, including 18 projects in Virginia, totaling over $475 million:

• $6.9 million for a maintenance shop at the Army National Guard facility in Troutville
• $6.1 million for a National Guard Readiness Center addition at the Troutville facility
• $43.9 million for Submarine Pier 3 at Naval Station Norfolk
• $75.1 million for a CMV-22 Aircraft Maintenance Hangar and Airfield Improvements at Naval Station Norfolk
• $30 million for a Dry Dock Saltwater System for CVN-78 at Norfolk Naval Shipyard
• $42.8 million for a vehicle inspection and visitor control center at Quantico
• $30 million for a wargaming center at Quantico
• $29.8 million for a veterinary treatment facility replacement at Fort Belvoir
• $20 million for a consolidated maintenance complex at the Pentagon
• $8.6 million for force protection perimeter enhancements at the Pentagon
• $21.9 million for a Public Works Support Facility at the Pentagon
• $24 million for a fuel system maintenance dock at Joint Base Langley-Eustis
• $36 million for a Special Ops Forces Battalion Ops Facility at Humphreys Center at Fort Belvoir
• $93.5 million for a Navy Munitions Command facility recap at Yorktown Naval Weapons Station
• $5 million for an Electrical System upgrade for the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency campus in Springfield
• $5.8 million for planning and design of an Army Aviation Support Facility in Sandston

Sexual Assault: Removes the chain of command from decisions related to the prosecution of several crimes including rape, sexual assault, murder, manslaughter, and kidnapping.

Privatized Military Housing: Requires the services to ensure performance evaluations assess how installation commanders performed oversight and managed privatized military housing challenges.

Restores Military Housing Personnel: Provides $3 million to allow the Department of Defense (DOD) to hire back personnel cut by reductions enacted by the Committee over Senator Kaine’s objections in 2015 and 2016. This personnel will work on oversight of military housing, climate change impacts, and resiliency of our military bases.

Arsenal Optimization: The final bill includes a requirement for the Secretary of the Army to develop a master plan for the revitalization and modernization of the Army’s arsenals initially proposed by an amendment offered by Senators Kaine and Blackburn. These arsenals are the critical manufacturing centers for components of nearly every DOD weapon, but many facilities date back to WWII. 

Prohibition On Equipment from China: Prohibits the Department of Defense (DOD) from buying personal protective equipment manufactured in China, Russia, North Korea, or Iran, while giving DOD flexibility for overseas use, small purchases, and urgent needs.

Support for the Industrial Base: Provides an additional $91 million for Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment Support fund, which can support a range of initiatives like digital manufacturing, industrial skills training, and submarine construction workforce training pipeline. 

Bien Hoa Dioxin Cleanup: Provides $15 million for cleanup of Bien Hoa Air Base in Vietnam. In 2019, Senator Kaine led the effort to include funding to USAID to clean up dioxin, a byproduct of Agent Orange, after visiting the formal inauguration of the remediation project at the airbase.

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