Mazie Hirono: “we now have one week left until the Senate is scheduled to recess for the end of the year. While this year is quickly…”

“we now have one week left until the Senate is scheduled to recess for the end of the year. While this year is quickly coming to an end, our work in this body is far from over, especially as it relates to our national security. Yesterday, the Armed Services Committee, on which I sit, released a text of fiscal year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act conference report. This year's NDAA contains critical investments in our servicemembers, our military infrastructure, and our national security at large. Importantly, this year's NDAA contains a 5.2-percent pay raise for our troops--the most significant raise in more than 20 years--and prevents large cuts to servicemembers' overseas cost-of-living adjustment accounts. The bill also includes several provisions I fought to secure to improve servicemembers' quality of life, including a pilot program to give military secretaries greater authority to replace substandard barracks. As we work to defend our allies and prevent conflict in the Pacific, this year's NDAA contains a number of provisions to strengthen our posture throughout the Indo-Pacific, including establishing a strategy for missile defense of Hawaii and the Indo-Pacific region, providing greater flexibility to bolster military infrastructure in the region and authorizing funding for multilateral training campaigns with our allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific.…”