Emanuel Cleaver: National Defense Authorization Act includes important measures

(From Fifth District Congressman Emanuel Cleaver)

Last week, the House of Representatives returned from the July 4th District Work Period to address a wide array of issues important to the American people. From passing our national defense budget to supporting our toxic-exposed veterans and passing legislation that would protect reproductive freedom nationwide, it was a busy week in the People's House--so let's get right to it!

House of Representatives Passes Annual National Defense Authorization Act, Including My Amendment to Promote Greater Diversity in the Appraisal Industry

Every year Congress must pass a national defense funding bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), to ensure our servicemembers get their paychecks, military families receive their benefits, critical national defense programs get funded, and important investments in science and technology research are made. 

Last week, the House of Representatives took up, debated, and passed the Fiscal Year 2023 NDAA--and I'm happy to report that I was proud to vote in favor of the legislation, which will now go to the Senate for further debate.

I'm also thrilled to relay that an amendment I sponsored to promote diversity in the appraisal industry, which has acknowledged a history of bias, was included in this year's NDAA. 

My amendment, taken from legislation I previously introduced entitled the Real Estate Valuation Fairness and Improvement Act, would help diversify the appraisal industry, which is approximately 98% White, by authorizing a $50 million federal grant program to promote diversity and inclusion in the appraisal profession through scholarships, training and education, implicit bias training, and more. While this is only a step toward removing long-held barriers to equitable real estate valuation standards, it is an important step worth taking. 

As the Chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing, I will continue to push for Congress to pass the rest of my Real Estate Valuation Fairness and Improvement Act to ensure ALL Americans are receiving fair value for their homes.

And while I'm grateful that my amendment was included in this year's NDAA, there are other important provisions in the bill that I supported and want to highlight, including:

-Key pay raises for servicemembers and their families, including a 4.6% pay raise for servicemembers and civilian personnel, 2.4% inflation bonuses for servicemembers earning less than $45,000 per year, and a $15 per hour minimum wage for workers on federal service and construction contracts;

-Improving quality of life and innovation infrastructure for servicemembers and their families by adding $1.7 billion to address poor and failing infrastructure, such as barracks and child development centers, and creating a required percentage of funding for sustainment of child development centers to address poor and failing facilities;

-Support for HBCUs and other minority serving institutions, with more than $111 million allocated for research activities at HBCUs and the establishment of a pilot program to increase research capacity at minority-serving institutions;

-Critical investments in science and technology competitiveness, including $275 million in additional funding for next-generation capabilities in hypersonics, electronic warfare, artificial intelligence, and software;

Resources for America's allies and partners, including $1 billion for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, $4 billion for the European Deterrence Initiative, and more than $7 billion in funding for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative;

Supply chain security through improved risk management in the Department of Defense supply chains and an assessment of dual-use technology that the Chinese Communist Party might exploit;

Extending the authorization of the Afghan Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) program as well as the deadline for those who qualify to apply for SIVs; and more.

While no NDAA is perfect--and there are certainly components I would prefer to cut out from this year's proposal--Congress is about compromise and consensus. I believe this year's NDAA is a fair compromise that provides our troops and their families with a substantial pay raise and additional benefits, reauthorizes defense programs critical to our national security, and gives America and her allies the strength and flexibility needed to face any challenge that may arise.

You can find more information on the Fiscal Year 2023 NDAA and my support for the legislation here.

House of Representatives Votes to Protect Women's Freedom

After a 10-year-old rape victim was recently forced to travel across state lines to obtain the care she needed, state legislatures across the country continue to enact extreme abortion bans while Members of Congress push for the nationwide criminalization of abortion. But my colleagues in the House of Representatives and I are fighting back to protect women's freedom.

Last week, I joined my lawmakers in the House of Representatives to pass two pieces of legislation to defend women's right to reproductive care--the Women's Health Protection Act and the Ensuring Women's Right to Reproductive Freedom Act. 

I am proud to have been a cosponsor of both bills, which would codify the protections previously afforded under Roe v. Wade and prevent state legislatures from criminalizing, fining, or suing Americans who exercise their constitutional right to travel across state lines to obtain a lawful abortion.

Following the Supreme Court's disastrous decision to upend 50 years of legal precedent by overturning Roe v. Wade, some legislators are proposing extreme policies aimed at preventing women from crossing state lines to obtain an abortion, including one such proposal by a Missouri state legislator. It is imperative that Congress preempt these extremely concerning attempts to exert even further government control over Americans and their body autonomy. 

The Ensuring Women's Right to Reproductive Freedom Act would do this by prohibiting interference against:

-A health care provider's ability to provide, initiate, or enable an abortion service that is lawful in the state in which the service is to be provided;

-A person's ability to assist a health care provider to provide, initiate, or enable an abortion service that is lawful in the state in which the service is to be provided;

-A person or entity's ability to assist someone traveling across a state line for the purpose of obtaining an abortion that is lawful in the state in which the service is to be provided; and

-The movement in interstate commerce of any drug approved or licensed by the Food and Drug Administration for the termination of a pregnancy.

With passage of the Women's Health Protection Act and the Ensuring Women's Right to Reproductive Freedom Act by the U.S. House of Representatives, the bills will now go to the U.S. Senate. As the Senate debates these essential bills, I will continue to push my colleagues in the upper chamber to send them to the President's desk--with or without the filibuster.

You can find more information on the Women's Health Protection Act and the Ensuring Women's Right to Reproductive Freedom Act here.

Legislation to Support Veterans Exposed to Toxic Substances Passed by House of Representatives

Last week, I was overjoyed to support S. 3373, the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act, otherwise known as the Honoring Our PACT Act, which was passed by the House of Representatives with bipartisan support. 

This long overdue legislation will deliver much-needed benefits to American veterans exposed to toxic substances, such as burn pits or Agent Orange, during their service, ensuring they can get the care they need from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Although American veterans have a long history of suffering from toxic substances, the VA has not recognized the effects of exposure to these substances or provided care to those suffering from illnesses or injuries related to such exposure. 

The Honoring Our PACT Act would finally right this wrong by:

-Expanding VA health care eligibility to Post-9/11 combat veterans, which includes more than 3.5 million toxic-exposed veterans;

-Creating a streamlined framework for the establishment of future presumptions of service connection related to toxic exposure;

-Adding 23 burn pit and toxic exposure-related conditions to the VA's list of service-connected presumptive illnesses, including hypertension;

-Expanding coverage for illnesses related to Agent Orange exposure;

-Strengthening federal research on toxic exposure;

-Improving the VA's resources and training for toxic-exposed veterans; and more.

The Honoring Our PACT Act is the largest veterans' health care bill passed in decades, and will now go to the Senate, where it is expected to be passed with bipartisan support. 

While we can never fully repay the debt we owe to the men and women who serve in our armed forces, the Honoring Our PACT Act will ensure that millions of toxic-exposed veterans receive the health care and benefits they desperately need and deserve.

You can find more information on the Honoring our PACT Act and my support for the bill here.