Today, Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee’s Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee Rep. Donald Norcross (D-NJ) voted to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) out of the House and secure priorities that strengthen our national defense, create American jobs, support servicemembers and their families, and invest in South Jersey.

The Fiscal Year 2024 NDAA passed today includes Rep. Norcross’s Military Industrial National Defense Supply Act (MINDS), bolstering ‘Buy America’ to create good-paying American jobs, secure our defense industrial base, and strengthen relationships with our partners and allies around the world.

“I’m proud to have led the efforts to build an American-made economy with a domestic workforce through my Buy American legislation and bolster our defense industrial base in this year’s NDAA. My legislation will create good-paying American jobs while securing our national defense and strengthening partnerships between our international allies and partners,” Rep. Norcross said. “This year’s NDAA provides our warfighters with the tools and resources they need to keep us safe, supports our armed forces with a pay raise, and improves the quality of life for our servicemembers and their families. As ranking member of the Tactical Air and Land Subcommittee, I will continue to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure our national security and deliver for South Jersey.”

The Fiscal Year 2024 NDAA provides a 5.2% pay raise for service members and ensures the United States can recruit and retain a talented military and civilian workforce. It also ensures we have the resources and authorities needed to meet the ongoing challenge posed by Hamas, Iran, North Korea, China, Russia, and violent extremist organizations around the world.

"The Buy American requirement in the NDAA is a significant and commendable step towards securing the future of our nation’s defense capabilities and the prosperity of American workers and our close allies like Canada. The Buy American requirement will support high-quality U.S. jobs, national defense, and the domestic defense industrial base. This crucial provision will not only strengthen the domestic content requirement for major defense acquisition programs but also create and support hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs in the U.S. This, in turn, ensures that our men and women in uniform have consistent access to the tools they need to safely complete their mission while bolstering our industrial base and domestic supply chain," Robert Martinez Jr., International President of the 600,000-member International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) said. “The IAM commends Representative Donald Norcross (D-N.J.) for his unwavering commitment to championing this critical language. His dedication to supporting Buy American policies demonstrates a clear understanding of prioritizing U.S. labor, environmental, and health and safety standards in government procurement.

“President Biden’s enforcement of Buy American provisions in manufacturing continues to build and grow an economy that works in the best interest of working families.

“Buy American policies align with the labor movement’s values, ensuring that government procurement supports U.S. labor, environmental, and health and safety standards. By reinvesting taxpayer dollars in domestic products, these policies lead to family- and community-sustaining jobs in cleaner and safer American factories.”

Fiscal Year 2024 NDAA Priorities Secured by Rep. Norcross:

• The MINDS Act and Buy American provision will secure the supply chain and create good-paying American jobs in the defense manufacturing and industrial base by increasing the percentage of American-made parts in the Major Acquisition Program to 75% in three years.

• Increase in military basic pay by 5.2% for service members and authorizes the Secretary of Defense to pay junior enlisted members a monthly bonus as economic conditions dictate.

• Authorizes $2.5 million for Rowan University’s research, development, and engineering to enable rapid entry and sustainment in the Arctic and other cold regions being conducted.

• Requires the Department of Defense to conduct studies and report on the condition of water utility systems at military installations, including Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, to ensure military families have access to clean and safe drinking water.

• Authorizes $57.5 million to improve Humvee rollover mitigation to avoid preventable accidents.

• Authorizes $177 million to purchase four additional CH-47F Block II Program aircraft for the Army and authorizes $135.0 million to purchase one additional CMV-22 aircraft for the Navy, which will be manufactured by South Jersey workers.

• Authorizes $5.0 million to support Project Pele’s research and development of micro nuclear reactors for sustainable and clean energy solutions.

• Authorizes $5.0 million to support research and development of advanced process technologies for energetics to ensure that munitions production is efficient, effective, and safe.