WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jim Risch and Mike Crapo (both R-Idaho) voted in support of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), fulfilling Congress’s constitutional duty to “provide for the common defense.”

The FY 2025 NDAA strengthens America’s military capabilities, bolsters national security, and incorporates key provisions important to the state of Idaho. The legislation supports our troops and their families through well-deserved pay increases, increased access to childcare and employment opportunities, and improved military housing. Republican lawmakers also included language to prohibit the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) from carrying out woke initiatives focused on gender identity rather than military readiness.

“This year’s NDAA places the safety of the American people ahead of woke identity politics,” said Risch. “This legislation directs critical resources, including a well-deserved pay raise, to our brave men and women in uniform and strengthens our national security in Idaho and abroad.”

“The FY2025 NDAA includes a plethora of wins for Idaho and America,” said Crapo.  “Inclusion of language from my bill, the Fighter Force Preservation and Recapitalization Act, protects fighter squadrons--such as the Idaho Air National Guard’s 190th Fighter Squadron--from force reductions.  Likewise, securing funds for projects at the Mountain Home Air Force Base and Idaho National Laboratory (INL) will have lasting, positive impacts on local communities, the economy and our national security.  While this bill, like many pieces of legislation passed in Congress, is far from perfect, I am proud of the advancements of commonsense policies that protect our values, secure our border and ensure our military is prepared as we face and mitigate threats from adversaries at home and abroad.” 

Senators Risch and Crapo secured provisions important to the state of Idaho in the NDAA that will:

• Require the U.S. Air Force to develop a plan to sustain and recapitalize the fighter fleets for the Air National Guard at a time when pilot and maintenance manning are at critically low levels;
• Provide resources for cleanup and waste disposition, regulatory support and construction at the INL;
• Direct DoD to submit a report to Congress about the current state of the domestic supply of necessary components, including nitrocellulose, for smokeless gun powder;
• Provide additional support for Project Pele, a mobile micro nuclear reactor project that is a partnership between DoD and the Idaho National Laboratory (INL);
• Direct funding to the Idaho Falls Naval Reactors Facility, which supports the U.S. Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program;
• Direct funding to the Mountain Home Air Force Base Child Development Center;

The FY 2025 NDAA further:

• Provides a 14.5 percent pay raise for junior enlisted servicemembers and a 4.5 percent basic pay increase for all servicemembers;
• Expands servicemember access to childcare, health care and spousal support;
• Authorizes funding to improve existing barracks and build new ones;
• Prohibits the DoD from using taxpayer dollars to cover gender transition surgeries, puberty blockers, and hormone treatments for minors;
• Blocks critical race theory programming in the military, including at service academies and DoD schools;
• Eliminates Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) positions at DoD;
• Counters antisemitism by prohibiting DoD from contracting with entities that have or are engaged in a boycott of Israel;
• Takes numerous steps to counter Chinese espionage and business at U.S. military facilities;
• Streamlines bureaucracy to expedite the rebuilding of our nation’s military arsenal;
• Reaffirms support and allied cooperation for Taiwan, South Korea and the Philippines from adversaries in the pacific; and
• Extends the Department of Defense’s authority to support partner forces in the fight against ISIS.

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