NDIA urges Congress to push NDAA into law

ARLINGTON, VA -- The National Defense Industrial Association called on Congress on Christmas Eve to override President Trump’s Dec. 23 veto of the latest National Defense Authorization Act, saying the bill is a necessity for the military and those who support it.

The passage into law of the William M. “Mac” Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 supports warfighters, deters great power competitors and invests in the maintenance and extension of strategic advantages, NDIA said in a letter Dec. 24 to the House and Senate Armed Service Committees. The NDAA also “addresses a broad swath of crucial issues from cybersecurity to Defense Department reform critical to realign our policies, organizations and resourcing to the Defense Strategy,” the letter states, citing the Pacific Deterrence Initiative as a key example.

NDIA’s members represent defense contractors across the country and in territories from all sectors and sizes of the defense industrial base; more than 75% of the membership are small businesses that drive innovation. “The passage of this annual measure into law is vital to providing these companies with as much surety as possible for them to invest in their workforce and in the technologies our warfighters require,” the letter states.

“As we approach the end of a very difficult 2020 and with the continuing impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, this surety is more important than ever,” the letter states. “It cannot wait for another legislative cycle.”

The entire letter is available here.

For media queries for Arnold Punaro, please contact Anita Kayser at akayser@punarogroup.com

For media queries for NDIA, please contact Evamarie Socha at esocha@ndia.org