Sen. Rick Scott Secures Major Wins for Florida, Warfighters in NDAA

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Rick Scott, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and Chairman of the SASC Subcommittee on Seapower, celebrated the committee's passage of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Senator Scott said, "Florida is home to thousands of servicemen and women who put on a uniform every day and put their lives on the line to protect our country. Our state hosts more than 20 military installations and three combatant commands. I am pleased to see so many critical provisions have been included in this year's version of the bill that will help Florida, our warfighters, and our national security.

"This bill helps equip our military with the technology and supplies it needs, rewards innovation and efficiency, invests in Florida's military infrastructure, takes steps to counter Communist China, and ensures America remains safe and strong now and in the future. I thank Chairman Wicker and Ranking Member Reed for helping get this through committee and look forward to passing the bill and sending it to President Trump's desk."

BACKGROUND:

This year's NDAA includes important wins for Florida and for President Trump's mission to support our warfighters and advance his peace through strength agenda. The bill now heads to the floor of the U.S. Senate for a final vote.

During bipartisan negotiations, Senator Scott helped secure the following provisions in the bill to support warfighters and Floridians:

• Authorizing a 3.6 percent pay raise for military personnel;

• Securing over $930 million for military construction projects throughout Florida;

• Banning the U.S. Department of War (DoW) from purchasing televisions made by companies based in Communist China, a U.S. adversary;

• Banning the DoW from purchasing modems and routers made by companies based in Communist China, helping to secure our defense networks;

• Prohibiting the DoW from procuring and operating drones that contain batteries, motors, and other critical subcomponents and raw materials from Communist China;

• Allowing the Navy to enter into a block-buy contract to purchase 12 or more E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft through 2029;

• Creating a better pathway for service academy athletes to play professional sports;

• Supporting the AUKUS partnership by allowing for the transfer of up to three in-service SSNs, instead of one new and two in-service SSNs, to our Australian partners;

• Encouraging the Secretary of War to retain and assess opportunities for expansion of the Capability Portfolio Execution for Simulation, Training, and Test Support in Central Florida;

• Recognizing the expertise and contributions of Israel to the Golden Dome program and requiring the Department to provide a briefing to Congress on plans to increase bilateral and multilateral cooperation for missile defense technology development, capabilities, and operations with key allies;

• Supporting our ally, Israel, by directing a briefing to Congress from the Department of War that includes an assessment of aerial refueling operations during the 12-Day War against Iran. The required briefing includes an assessment on what the refueling tempo may have looked like if Israel utilized KC-46s as part of their tanker fleet;

• Expanding the DoW's authority to identify Chinese military companies by broadening the types of companies that can be placed on the Department's 1260H list, to include companies that receive Chinese government support tied to military-industrial policies, do business with Chinese military or security organizations, or are subsidiaries or affiliates of designated entities;

• Securing funding for expansion of unmanned surface and subsurface vessel development and testing;

• Securing increased funding for sonobuoy sensors, which are essential for anti-submarine warfare;

• Directing the Secretary of the Air Force to conduct a comprehensive review of National Security Space Launch Phase 3 acquisition strategy and deliver a briefing to the Armed Services Committee to assess cost, schedule, performance, and mission outcome and ensure that the two-lane construct continues to support evolving commercial launch capabilities and mission needs;

• Supporting an extension of the temporary cap on reimbursable costs for space launch activities, with the intent of fostering predictable range economics and supporting a competitive commercial launch base;

• Directing the Navy to accelerate the adoption and transition of selected Extra Large Uncrewed Undersea Vehicle platforms to meet operational requirements in the Indo-Pacific;

• Directing the Chief of Space Operations to provide a briefing and report on efforts to accelerate efforts on dynamic space operation capability development and fielding;

• Empowering SOCOM, in partnership with the military services, to continue efforts to identify, assess, and innovate one-way attack unmanned aerial systems;

• Requiring the Under Secretary of War for Personnel and Readiness to brief Congress on the short-term risk mitigation efforts for pharmaceutical ingredients sourced from foreign suppliers, efforts to work with domestic stakeholders, and plans to partner with other federal stakeholders on addressing the issue.

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