Senator Murray: “As a voice for Washington state and its servicemembers and veterans in the Senate, I will work to make sure every provision in this bill meant to support our military families does exactly that.”
(Washington, D.C.) — U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, released the following statement in response to the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (NDAA) in the Senate by a vote of 89-10. Senator Murray voted in favor of the bill. The bill will next go to the White House for President Biden’s signature.
“As the daughter of a World War II veteran and Purple Heart recipient, I know how important it is that our country honor the commitment we make to our servicemembers, veterans, and their families. This year’s NDAA will help improve the lives of our servicemembers and military families by increasing pay and expanding family and parental leave for those who serve our country, establishing a Basic Needs Allowance to help military families make ends meet, and creating new programs to help military spouses find jobs. It will also take long overdue steps to increase the supply of affordable housing near public transit and create manufacturing jobs in Washington state.
“I continue to strongly support steps to eliminate waste, fraud, abuse and areas of obvious excess in defense spending—such as our ballooning nuclear weapons modernization program—so that we can better address other pressing needs in our communities. But, as a voice for Washington state and its servicemembers and veterans in the Senate, I will work to make sure every provision in this bill meant to support our military families does exactly that.”
Senator Murray has championed measures in this year’s NDAA to support quality of life improvements for servicemembers and their families, such as a 2.7% pay raise for military servicemembers, 12 weeks of parental leave for servicemembers, establishing a Basic Needs Allowance for servicemembers, and inclusion of provisions from the Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act to address sexual assault in the military. Senator Murray also successfully pushed to include the Promoting Affordable Housing Near Transit Act in the package, which will allow federal transit grant recipients to transfer unused land from transit projects for affordable housing projects at no cost, allowing for more affordable housing stock near public transit and in city centers. Senator Murray also included in the bill a provision to ensure anchor chains for Navy vessels are made in America, which will help create jobs and bolster Washington state’s economy as the nation’s only domestic anchor chain producer is located in Blaine, Washington.
Senator Murray is a former chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs’ Committee and a longtime advocate for veterans and those actively serving in the military, leading the fight to ensure VA expands fertility treatment and adoption services for servicemembers, veterans and their families through her Veteran Families Health Services Act. She is pushing VA to prioritize the long-term care needs of all veterans—including women veterans, veterans of color, LGBTQ+ veterans, and veterans with disabilities. Murray has also authored legislation that will give servicemembers the tools they need to build real financial security into retirement, and continues to build on her work to bolster federal support for military child care center construction and other issues to support military families.
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