**The House passed a previous version of this legislation in September**

Washington, D.C. — Today, Rep. Annie Kuster (NH-02), voted to pass the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022. This bipartisan bill supports American service members and their families, increases pay for service members, combats military sexual violence, strengthens national security, and advances United States leadership in the world.

“Funding our armed services is essential, and today I was glad to see my colleagues from both sides of the aisle in both the House and Senate come together to deliver critical funding for our troops, expand investments in clean energy and technology, and combat military sexual violence,” said Rep. Kuster. “From promoting U.S. global leadership to honoring our troops at home, this legislation provides our armed forces with the resources they need to keep us safe, and I was proud to vote for this measure.”

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 will:

• Increase Pay for Our Troops: The bill takes several key steps to improve the quality of life for our service men and women, including authorizing support for a 2.7% pay increase and increasing the allowable parental leave for primary and secondary caregivers in military families.
• Combat Military Sexual Assault: The bill makes historic changes to better address sexual assault in the military, including removing the Commander from decisions related to the prosecution of sexual assault crimes and instead, creating an Office of Special Victim Prosecutor to prosecute these crimes.
• Address Climate Change: The bill makes key investments to address the threat of climate change as it pertains to national security and bolster energy resiliency across the Department of Defense.
• Strengthen Our Navy: This bill authorizes the procurement of two new Virginia-class submarines which will help ensure freedom of navigation around the world and will be maintained at naval shipyards, like the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
• Reinforce American Leadership Abroad: This bill combats our adversaries with new tools to deter aggression from Russia and China and reaffirms the United States’ commitment to NATO by providing ongoing support for European allies.
• Invest in American Families: The bill authorizes two weeks of paid parental bereavement leave for all federal employees.

Congress has passed a National Defense Authorization Act every year for 60 consecutive years, upholding Congress’s constitutional responsibility to “provide for the common defense.”

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