WASHINGTON, D.C.(HubCityRadio)- Late Thursday night, the U.S. Senate passed their version of the National Defense Authorization Act on a bipartisan vote of 86-11. Both Senators John Thune & Mike Rounds voted in favor of the bill.
Senator Thune released the following statement upon passage:
“The NDAA is one of the most important measures Congress passes every year, and I’m pleased that the Senate passed it today with overwhelming bipartisan support,” said Thune. “The bill strengthens our national security and Ellsworth Air Force Base’s position in defending it, addresses concerns about U.S. military readiness, and provides support for Ukraine in its war with Russia. I remain committed to ensuring that Ellsworth Air Force Base and its surrounding communities have everything they need for the B-21 bomber mission so Ellsworth can continue to serve as one of our nation’s essential military assets for decades to come.”
Senator Rounds quoted saying this:
“The fact that we’re going to have a strong bipartisan approach on it says that we’re probably closer to where we’re going to end up than what the House has done on a partisan basis,”
NDAA priorities for South Dakota include:
- $396 million for B-21 military construction, including:
- Fuel System Maintenance Dock, $75 million
- Phase Hangar, $160 million
- Weapons Generation Facility, $160 million
- $5.31 billion for B-21 development and procurement, including:
- Research, development, test, and evaluation of the B-21 Raider, $2.325 billion
- B-21 procurement, $1.617 billion
- Advance B-21 procurement, $708 million
- $5.25 million to complete National Guard Readiness Center
- BG Dean Mann Sioux Falls Readiness Center, $5.25 million
- Continued procurement of long-range munitions used by the B-1 bomber and future B-21, including:
- Joint Air-Surface Standoff Missile, $1.685 billion
- Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile, $187.7 million
- Long-Range Standoff Weapon, $958.2 million
Next step is a joint committee between the U.S. House & Senate’s versions to iron out the differences.