NEVADA VIEWS: Defense spending bill delivers for Nevada

Nevada is the home of both the Air Force and Navy fighter pilot, the host to the largest remotely piloted aircraft mission for the Air Force and the largest ammunition depot in the world, and the only place in the country where we verify the viability of our nuclear stockpile without having to detonate a weapon. It’s safe to say that our state plays an integral role in America’s national security.

As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I’m pleased to report that the bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act I helped shape has just been signed into law.

This bill, which sets annual defense policy and authorizes more than $768 billion to support our national security, delivers for Nevada and our men and women in uniform.

For example, it allocates more than $16 million for new construction projects at Creech Air Force Base and another $80 million to add four MQ-9 remotely piloted aircraft, which provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance support for our troops in combat zones.

Additionally, the bill authorizes $135 million for the ongoing construction project at the Nevada National Security Site’s underground laboratory, where scientists safely verify the reliability of our nation’s nuclear stockpile. Despite being a facility of critical national importance — one larger than all other nuclear security sites combined — the security site has not had budgeted funding that it can rely on for infrastructure planning. This bill contains my provision to help establish a long-term and more stable funding approach.

This year’s defense bill isn’t just about strengthening America’s military might. It also takes promising steps to improve the quality of life for Nevada’s service members and their families. This legislation secures a well-deserved 2.7 percent pay raise for our troops and expands parental leave to 12 weeks for active duty service members.

Earlier this year, I met with airmen at Nellis and Creech Air Force bases, where I heard about the housing challenges they’re facing. Our service members receive a housing allowance determined by the cost of living at the base, rather than where they often actually live. Most Creech airmen, for instance, live in Las Vegas — which has a significantly higher cost of living than the Indian Springs-based housing allowance they receive. Additionally, due to housing shortages at Nellis, junior airmen are being forced out of military housing and must cover moving expenses and deposits. The Defense Department is authorized to provide them with a dislocation allowance during this interim period, but has not done so.

To address these challenges, the defense bill includes a provision requiring the Department of Defense to report how it determines housing allowance formulas and how it plans to address this discrepancy. The bill also includes my provision requiring the secretary of defense to brief Congress on why the department is not providing the dislocation allowance.

Another growing health and safety issue for Nevada service members are PFAS, a classification of highly toxic chemicals that have been found at military facilities across the country, including in the groundwater at Nellis and Creech. The defense package requires the DOD to publicly disclose the results of any PFAS testing at military installations and inform service members and their families of the exposure risks.

This year’s defense package also includes my bipartisan bills to enhance America’s cyber preparedness and cooperation with global allies, strengthen our national artificial intelligence capabilities and reduce barriers for Army National Guard and Reserve Soldiers seeking active duty opportunities.

There is more work ahead, but this final defense bill is not only a significant bipartisan accomplishment, it’s a major win for Nevada.

Jacky Rosen, a Democrat, represents Nevada in the U.S. Senate and serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee.