Bipartisan Defense Bill Advances in Congress, Including Key Provisions Introduced by Senator Hassan to Protect National Security

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate and House today released the compromise agreement on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, which includes key priorities that Senator Hassan introduced and championed to protect the national security of Granite Staters and all Americans. Bipartisan amendments that Senator Hassan introduced to address drone threats to service members overseas and create a cybersecurity state coordinator in each state are included in the bill, which now awaits final passage in the Senate and House.

“Today, Congress continued its years-long tradition of putting partisanship aside and working across the aisle to move forward the critical annual defense bill that will help keep Americans safe, secure, and free and support those who serve and have served our nation in uniform,” said Senator Hassan. “This bill includes key funding for New Hampshire, raises pay for service members, and includes bipartisan priorities I authored to strengthen state and local cybersecurity and keep service members safe from drone threats. I urge my colleagues in the House and Senate to move quickly to pass this bill, and for the President to sign it into law.”

New Hampshire Priorities Included in the FY21 National Defense Authorization Act:

Support for Service Members & Military Projects

• Three percent pay raise for all U.S. military personnel
• $160 million for the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard dry dock project
• Senator Hassan’s bipartisan provision to better protect service members abroad by improving the Defense Department’s response to threats from small drones, a concern that U.S. military leaders raised with the Senator during her visit to Afghanistan
• Amendment cosponsored by Senator Hassan to ensure that Vietnam War veterans can more easily access care for additional diseases associated with Agent Orange exposure; the measure is based on a bill that Senator Hassan is an original cosponsor of
• Increased funding for a PFAS study at Pease
• Funding for the procurement of 2 Virginia-class submarines, which are maintained and repaired by the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
• A provision based on a bill that Senator Hassan cosponsored to report on and assess the implementation of military personal protective gear that is better adapted for female service members
• The establishment of a commission to study and remove all Confederate names, symbols, displays, monuments, and paraphernalia from Defense Department bases and other assets; this is related to a bill that Senator Hassan previously cosponsored

Cybersecurity & Technology Provisions

• Senator Hassan’s bipartisan provision to establish a cybersecurity state coordinator in New Hampshire and every state
• Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Senator Hassan’s bipartisan provision to help shore up cybersecurity vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure systems
• A provision based on a bill Senator Hassan cosponsored to assess and address the rising threat of deepfakes, which are hyper-realistic, digital manipulations of real content that depict events that did not actually occur
• An amendment that Senator Hassan cosponsored to require a report on the Defense Department’s strategy on Artificial Intelligence standards

Provisions to Address Rise of China

• An amendment cosponsored by Senator Hassan based on a bill she cosponsored that helps spur American-based manufacturing of semiconductors in order to increase competitiveness and decrease reliance on China, which has invested significantly in semiconductor manufacturing

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