Senator Scott Statement on Passage of the National Defense Authorization Act

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) released the following statement on his vote to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

“At a time of growing and evolving global threats, it is unthinkable that the Biden administration asked for tens of billions of dollars in cuts to our military,” said Senator Scott. “I am proud to vote for this bipartisan authorization to increase U.S. defense spending by $25 billion more than the Biden plan and give our troops a well-deserved pay raise. I remain committed to ensuring our men and women in uniform are fully equipped to keep our country safe and prosperous.”

BACKGROUND

The FY22 NDAA authorizes $777.7 billion to support U.S. national defense and includes a pay raise for armed forces for the third year in a row. The bill includes Senator Scott’s amendment to increase funding from the president’s original request of $31 million for the Department of Defense’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities program to $73 million in the final NDAA. The bill also contains multiple wins for South Carolina championed by Senator Scott, including:

• $59 million, Joint Base Charleston
• $55 million, Fort Jackson
• $130.3 million, Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort
• $6 million, Marine Corps Reserve Depot Parris Island
• $18.8 million, McEntire Joint National Guard Base
• $1.7 billion, Savannah River Site

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