North Boston News

Washington, DC – On June 22, Congressman Seth Moulton (D-MA) voted to pass the FY2024 National Defense Authorization Act out of the House Armed Services Committee. This is a key step in the process for passing the annual, must-pass legislation that dictates our nation’s defense priorities and spending. 

As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, Congressman Moulton submitted various policy provisions, focused primarily on military mental health and defense modernization, for inclusion in the House bill text.

One key provision put forward by Congressman Moulton is the creation of a pilot program for mental health check-ups for students attending school on U.S. military bases. This program would ensure that children of military families, who often face a unique set of mental health stressors and challenges, receive built-in mental health care through school. The pilot program would also serve as an example for the rest of the country when it comes to increasing access to mental health care for young people and destigmatizing conversations about mental health.

Another new provision in the bill is an effort to confront the growing problem of overdoses in the military by requiring that naloxone, a nasal spray capable of reversing a fatal opioid overdose, be readily available on military installations. An additional bipartisan amendment, sponsored by Moulton, requires regular reporting by the Department of Defense on instances of overdoses in the military to inform a strategy for reducing overdose rates.

As Ranking Member of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee, Mr. Moulton led a successful effort to restore nearly half of the Republican cuts to nuclear nonproliferation programs at the National Nuclear Security Administration. The funding he restored will support arms control verification technology and enhanced control of nuclear material.

Additional provisions authored by Moulton that are included in the House version of the NDAA include:

• Requiring military installations around the world to display signage and information about the 9-8-8 mental health lifeline so that DOD personnel can get help in a mental health emergency - even if they are out of the country.
• Protecting servicemember privacy by preventing DoD contractors from selling or transferring individually identifiable data on DoD personnel.
• Partially restoring Republican cuts to nuclear nonproliferation efforts, including funding for arms control verification technology and enhanced control of nuclear material.

Congressman Moulton was proud to support successful efforts by Democrats to limit Republican attacks on DoD diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts; and he fought to protect access to contraception for servicemembers.

Though ultimately unsuccessful, he supported an increase in funding for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative to last year’s levels. Moulton also strongly advocated for blocking the creation of an unnecessary new low yield nuclear weapon.

The NDAA now moves forward toward a vote by the full House of Representatives. If passed, it will then be reconciled with the Senate’s version of the bill before a final version is voted on by the House and Senate by the end of the year. 

Original source can be found here.