CHARLOTTE, NC – With Honor Action is pleased to see twelve legislative priorities of the bipartisan veteran For Country Caucus that we work alongside advance through this week’s hearings for the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). These important provisions will improve our national security, expand civic education in our high schools, and provide life-saving support to our troops, veterans, and military dependents.
“In a time of such bitter polarization and dysfunction, it’s encouraging to see members from across party lines coming together to advance critical legislation for our national security, civic education, and veterans affairs,” said Rye Barcott, With Honor Action CEO and Co-Founder. “I’m especially pleased to see the inclusion of a plan to double the size of Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) in public schools across the country. This is a key piece of the Inspire to Serve Act that the late Senator John McCain initiated, and the founding co-chairs and vice chairs of the For Country Caucus introduced in the 116th Congress. Doubling our JROTC units across the nation is especially timely now as our public schools wrestle with massive educational gaps and challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Below are provisions of special significance:
1) Establish support programs for Gold Star family members of Special Operations Forces.
2) Establish a basic needs allowance for junior enlisted military families.
3) Initiate a plan to dramatically expand Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) across the nation.
4) Improve access to postpartum depression and anxiety screenings for service women and dependents.
5) Increase cooperation between the United States and Israel on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) research through the establishment of a grant program.
6) Provide incentive and special duty pays to National Guard and Reserve service members at the same rate as their active-duty counterparts.
7) Update the National Guard’s 1095 rule to improve mission readiness.
8) Establish a grant program to enable small- and medium-sized U.S. Artificial Intelligence companies to participate in international standardization efforts.
9) Call on the Secretary of Defense to develop and implement a robust Department of Defense strategy for modernizing the digital ecosystem by establishing performance objectives and accompanying metrics for Artificial Intelligence and digital readiness.
10) Establish new occupational series and associated policies covering Federal Government positions in the fields of artificial intelligence, software development, software engineering, data science, and knowledge management.
11) Allow service members to anonymously report and seek mental health treatment.
12) Authorize the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) to allow those who withdrew prior to the “Widow’s Tax” repeal to re-enroll and catch up on missed premiums, thus ensuring a continuous lifetime annuity for their dependents.
With Honor Action will work vigorously to ensure these priorities make it to the final passage of the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act.
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With Honor Action is a cross-partisan movement focused on supporting military veterans who want to work across the aisle and put principles before politics while serving again in Congress. With Honor Action’s advisory board includes post-9/11 veterans and Gold Star family members — Chris Howard, Ryan Manion, and Medal of Honor Recipient Florent Groberg — as well as prominent American leaders such as Secretary Robert Gates, Senator Tom Daschle, Admiral Michael Mullen, Gen. Nadja West, and David Gergen.
With Honor Action is a 501(c)(4), which serves as the organization’s policy and social-welfare arm. With Honor has an affiliated federally registered “super PAC” called With Honor Fund.