Trone’s Bill to Combat Fentanyl Trafficking Included in Annual Defense Bill Supporting Service Members and America’s National Security
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 14, 2022
Contact: Sasha Galbreath, Sasha.Galbreath@mail.house.gov
Trone’s Bill to Combat Fentanyl Trafficking Included in Annual Defense Bill Supporting Service Members and America’s National Security
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congressman Trone voted to pass H.R. 7900, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23), which will strengthen U.S. national security by bolstering the development of new technologies, coordination with America’s global network of allies and partners, and support for service members and their families, who form the backbone of America’s defense.
The House’s version of the FY23 NDAA includes a range of key national security priorities supported by Congressman Trone, including his Fighting Emerging Narcotics Through Additional Nations to Yield Lasting (FENTANYL) Results Act. The FENTANYL Results Act would authorize programs through the State Department to build their foreign law enforcement capacity to detect synthetic drug trafficking and deploy an international exchange program for experts in the field.
“Today’s House passage of the NDAA reaffirms our commitment to keep Americans safe and strengthen our country’s national security,” said Congressman Trone, member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee and former co-chair of the U.S. Commission on Combating Synthetic Opioid Trafficking. “This year’s defense bill includes bipartisan initiatives to expand the talent pipeline and support a well-equipped military and civilian workforce. The bill also increases our capability to identify and penalize international drug trafficking rings, which have added dangerous, unregulated, and addictive fuel to America’s opioid epidemic. This defense funding will benefit Americans at home and abroad for generations – an effort we can all get behind.”
Other provisions of the NDAA include:
- Increased pay and benefits for service members and their families, including a 4.6% pay raise for service members and civilian personnel, 2.4% inflation bonuses for service members earning less than $45,000/year, and a $15/hour minimum wage for workers on federal service and construction contracts.
- Support for HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions, allocating over $111 million for research activities at HBCUs and establishing a pilot program to increase research capacity at minority-serving institutions.
- Civilian harm mitigation measures, including the establishment of a Commission on Civilian Harm and a Center for Excellence in Civilian Harm Mitigation at the Department of Defense.
- New investments in science and technology competitiveness, including $275 million in additional funding for next-generation capabilities in hypersonics, electronic warfare, directed energy, artificial intelligence, and software.
- Resources for U.S. allies and partners, including $1 billion for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) and funding for the European Deterrence Initiative (EDI) and Pacific Deterrence Initiative (PDI).
A summary of the provisions in the FY23 NDAA is available here.
Congressman David Trone was elected to the House of Representatives in November 2018 to serve the 6th District of Maryland, which includes all or part of Montgomery, Frederick, Washington, Allegany, and Garrett Counties. Trone serves on the Appropriations, Veterans’ Affairs, and Joint Economic Committees. In Congress, Trone is fighting to make progress on issues that matter to Marylanders, including the mental health and addiction crises, criminal justice reform, and funding for medical research.
Follow Congressman Trone at @RepDavidTrone for updates on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
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