Ricketts Supports Defense Bill With Major Nebraska Wins

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) recognized passing the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The NDAA authorizes funding levels and authorities for the U.S. military. This ensures American forces have the training, equipment, and resources they need to carry out their missions..

“Communist China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea all need to be deterred,” said Senator Ricketts. “By restoring American strength, this NDAA will help us deter our adversaries and keep Americans safe. I appreciate Senator Deb Fischer and Congressman Don Bacon’s leadership on the Armed Services Committees. Together, we’re ensuring our military has what it needs to defend us.”

Wins in the NDAA:

Authorizes $924.7 billion for national defense next year;
Gives a 3.8% pay raise to our servicemembers;
Authorizes over $4 billion in funding for modernizing our nuclear triad, including the Sentinel ICBM program;
Includes the Ricketts-sponsored AUKUS Improvement Act, which streamlines defense industrial base collaboration and co-production between the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom;
Includes a Ricketts-authored provision requiring a security review of the U.S.-China Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement (STA);
Includes a Ricketts-supported provision directing the U.S. Department of Defense to assess the feasibility of a program, modeled after Senator Fischer’s CHIP In for Veterans Act, enabling local communities to contribute to DoD healthcare facility development;
Includes the Ricketts-supported COUNTER Act, which combats Communist China’s attempts to strengthen its global reach through military expansion;

Nebraska-Specific Wins:

Extends experimentation and prototyping authority to all combatant commands, including U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM);
Requires the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program to begin being fielded by Sept. 30, 2033;
Authorizes an additional $19 million in funding for the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), which identifies the remains of fallen servicemembers. One of two DPAA labs is located at Offutt Air Force Base;
Authorizes $15 million to support the Nuclear Command, Control, Communications (NC3) Network Sensor Demonstration at Offutt Air Force Base;
Authorizes $15 million to support the innovative NC3 Rapid Engineering Architecture Collaboration Hub program, or REACH, at Offutt Air Force Base;
Authorizes funding for the Survivable Airborne Operation Center (SAOC) to replace the aging E-4B “Doomsday plane,” as well as funding for the design of hangars and other facilities for SAOC at Offutt Air Force Base;
Codifies a requirement for deep cleaning of ICBM launch control centers every five years;
Designates STRATCOM’s Joint Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations (JEMSO) office as the lead entity for coordinating testing and evaluation of joint employment of Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) technologies;
Directs a report on the 557th Weather Wing’s cloud migration, AI readiness, and infrastructure modernization roadmap;
Codifies the 557^th Weather Wing’s authorities to provide meteorological and environmental services to the Intelligence Community;
Requires CFIUS to report on real estate transactions of national security threats. This helps to target Communist China’s malign activities in the U.S. and near critical military sites across the nation;

Ricketts’ AUKUS Improvement Act:

Exempts Australia and the UK from requiring an export license to retransfer technology and military kit, purchased via Foreign Military Sales or cooperative programs, to a U.S.-vetted AUKUS Authorized User.
- This would enhance Australia’s ability to support U.S. deterrence efforts in the Indo-Pacific, as well as expedite Australian industry participation in and contribution to the American Submarine Industrial Base
Ensures that defense exports exempted under AUKUS are exempt from Congressional Notification requirements, including those for overseas manufacturing.
- This will simplify, expedite and make cheaper co-production cooperation with Australia, which will both supplement and complement vulnerabilities in the US industrial base.