ALEXANDRIA, VA – On Dec. 8, the US House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2023 in a vote of 350-80. The bill now moves to the Senate for final passage before making its way to the President to sign into law.
The NDAA serves as the backbone for US national security policy and priorities. The final bill contains $857.9 billion for national security spending, $45 billion above the President’s budget request. This shows Congress’ commitment to further invest in cutting-edge technologies and innovations. The Association of Old Crows (AOC) applauds Congress for advancing this critical legislation for the 62nd consecutive year.
Earlier this year, the House passed its own version of the bill, which included Representative Rick Larsen’s (D-WA) Sense of Congress on the Electromagnetic Spectrum Superiority Strategy (Section 917). The inclusion of this language was the product of AOC’s continued engagement with Members of Congress, specifically the Co-Chairs of the Electromagnetic Working Group (EWWG), to advocate for EW policies and funding.
While Section 917 was not included in the final bill text, the House and Senate Armed Services Committees converted the bill language into report language. The inclusion of the report language means Congress still expresses its intent to the Department of Defense that electromagnetic spectrum superiority underpins DOD’s National Defense Strategy and directs the Secretary of Defense to provide Congress with an unclassified version of the Implementation Plan for the Electromagnetic Spectrum Superiority Strategy in all future updates to the plan. The report also states that the Secretary of Defense should strengthen governance reforms and respond to persistent gaps in joint electromagnetic spectrum operations when implementing the Electromagnetic Spectrum Superiority Strategy.
AOC is pleased this language made it into the Joint Explanatory Statement report as part of the Fiscal Year 2023 NDAA. Congress’ oversight role in how DOD implements the Strategy is significant in finally addressing gaps that have existed for far too long. AOC must continue to work with Congress, specifically the members of the EWWG, on advancing EW policy in the future Congress.