On Wednesday, December 23, 2020, Congresswoman Cheri Bustos, a member of the powerful House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, released the following statement. Her comments are in response to President Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA.) The Bill included a pay raise for troops; protections for Gold Star Families; improvements of National Guardsmen benefits.
“On his way to holiday parties in Mar-A-Lago, President Trump decided to pick up his pen and deny our troops a pay raise, just in time for the holidays. His decision to reject this overwhelmingly bipartisan legislation–for reasons completely unrelated to our military–is cruel….[It] reveals his utter disdain for the men and women in uniform, who protect our Country every day.
“This defense authorization package is critical to the operation of our military and honors those who put their lives on the line to serve our Nation. If this lame-duck President won’t put his own ego aside to do what’s right for America, my colleagues and I will.
“From the Rock Island Arsenal, to the Peoria Air National Guard Base, to research facilities in Rockford, this package upholds our Region’s strong tradition of service; strengthens protections for Gold Star families; improves and protects benefits for our National Guard. I will vote to override this impulsive, irresponsible veto without hesitation.”
Congresswoman Bustos fought to include the following provisions in the NDAA:
- Opening Rock Island Arsenal for Growth The Army will now choose certain installations for a Pilot Program to catalog unused real estate online, much like “Zillow.com” does for residential real estate. If the Arsenal is selected, qualifying organizations from State and Federal Government, academia, and the private sector could begin to lease surplus real estate on the Arsenal, right next to the Army’s Advanced and Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence.
- Strengthened protections for Gold Star Families After hearing the story of Gold Star spouse Kylie Riney of Fairview, IL, who lost her husband in Afghanistan and was unable to terminate a lease to move her family and mourn their loss, Congresswoman Bustos passed legislation that would allow Gold Star spouses to terminate residential leases without penalty. Later, Congresswoman Bustos passed additional legislation to extend these protections to include automobile leases and to spouses of catastrophically injured servicemembers. Today’s bill would extend these protections to dependents of Gold Star servicemembers, such as children.
- Student Loan Benefits for National Guard The bill enhances student loan benefits for National Guard and Reserve members. Now, National Guardsmen and Reservists can receive 15% or $500 (whichever is greater) of student loans forgiven every year. However, because the Student Loan Forgiveness Program kicks in during the second year of a National Guard enlistment, many Guardsmen will only receive a total of 75% or $2500 (whichever is greater) of the student loan forgiveness by the end of a six-year enlistment. Today’s bill incorporates parts of Congresswoman Bustos’s bipartisan Selected Reserve Education Loan Repayment Program (LRP) Enhancement Act, to double the minimum forgiveness to 15% or $1000 (whichever is greater.)
- Protection of National Guard Benefits When the activations of Soldiers and Airmen in the National Guard responding to COVID-19 were set to expire–just one day short of the required time of service to qualify for certain Federal benefits–Congresswoman Bustos led more than 70 of her colleagues in calling on the Administration to extend their activations. After months of fighting for our service men and women, she helped to ultimately secure multiple extensions through March 31. After the current Administration cut Federal funding for National Guard pandemic response efforts for some “favored” States, but not others, Congresswoman Bustos introduced legislation to ensure that every State has the National Guard resources it needs in the COVID-19 crisis. This package would require the Department of Defense to report how and why it made these inconsistent decisions to favor certain States during a global pandemic.
- Uniforms for Women Servicemembers Congresswoman Bustos helped include a provision that would authorize a pilot program to provide women in the military access to maternity uniforms at no cost.
- Pregnancy Discrimination Congresswoman Bustos also helped include a provision that requires the Department of Defense to develop policies that fight pregnancy discrimination, including reasonable accommodations for a pregnant servicemember’s career (like training postponement.)