Strong, Bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act Passes Congress, Securing Major Wins for North Dakota

WASHINGTON – Today, the Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) with a vote of 87 to 13. For 62 years in a row, Congress has prioritized and passed a National Defense Authorization Act, ensuring our troops have the necessary equipment and resources they need to carry out their missions. This year’s bill fully funds nuclear modernization efforts, supports efforts to develop increased intelligence capabilities, grows the Space Force, and authorizes multiple North Dakota military projects.

U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), was appointed to the NDAA Conference Committee which reconciles the differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill before final passage.

“From our Air Force bases to our guard and reserve components, North Dakota has contributed mightily to our first constitutional responsibility: the common defense of the nation,” Senator Cramer said. “This bill makes critical investments in the wellbeing of our troops and their families, while remaining mission-focused and pushing back against political distractions like DEI and climate change reporting. It reflects our state’s legacy of service and prioritizes its future role in the defense of the nation.”

The FY24 NDAA provides for the national defense of the United States by authorizing a total of $886.3 billion in Fiscal Year 2024 funding for national defense, a 3% increase over 2023 levels. This NDAA provides a 5.2% pay raise for both military servicemembers and the DOD civilian workforce, the largest increase since 2002. Within the topline, this bill authorizes $841.2 billion for the Department of Defense (DOD) and $32.6 billion for national security programs within the Department of Energy (DOE). The legislation also includes Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Senator Cramer’s Military Merit, Fairness, and Equality Act of 2023 (Merit Act), which helps preserve the performance-based warfighting ethos of the military and stop the toxic, so-called ‘equity’ agenda at the DOD at its source.

Further, the FY24 NDAA authorizes requested funding for procurement of naval vessels, combat aircraft, armored vehicles, weapon systems, and munitions; mandates a full accounting of the cost and content of previously opaque and unaccountable DEI programming across the Department and ensures senior defense officials are not required to take time and effort promoting these toxic policies; prohibits funds from being used to require any contractor bidding on a DOD contract to disclose any information relating to greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related financial risk.

Minot Air Force Base (AFB)

***Click here for video and here for audio on wins for Minot***

“This year's bill fully funds nuclear modernization, which is the number one priority in the national defense strategy. Minot Air Force Base is at the heart of this effort with two of the three legs of our nuclear triad,” said Cramer. “Our NDAA will help phase out Cold War-era Minuteman missiles for the new Sentinels, provide funding for eight new engines on every B-52 bomber, and replace the old Vietnam-era UH-1 helicopters so our airmen can effectively accomplish their mission. This NDAA sets a statutory minimum for ICBMs and missile silos to prevent any future administrations from arbitrarily reducing them below their current number.”

Senator Cramer is a strong supporter of the nation’s nuclear triad and has pushed military leaders at the highest levels to keep Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) modernization funded and on time. This year’s NDAA:

• Authorizes $3.7 billion for Sentinel GBSD modernization to replace the 70-year-old Minuteman III missile, which was originally designed to last 10 years. The Sentinel will be modern enough to deter adversaries for the next 50 years.
• Authorizes $770 million for B-52 commercial engine replacement program (CERP) and radar modernization. These upgrades will add range and lethality to the aircraft, which will be a critical part of the airborne leg of the nuclear triad well past 2050.
• Authorizes $228 million for MH-139A Gray Wolf helicopters to replace the aging UH-1 helicopters at Minot Air Force Base (AFB). The UH-1 helicopters are Vietnam-era aircraft and certainly not the ideal aircraft for North Dakota winters. Senator Cramer discussed this issue with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General C.Q. Brown, urging leadership to move quickly and provide Airmen with much needed upgrades for a vitally important mission of supporting the missile alert facilities at Minot AFB.
• Authorizes $40.8 million for the Nuclear Command, Control & Communication (NC3) program, which will modernize the communications equipment used at Minot AFB. NC3 provides the means for the President to authorize the use of nuclear weapons in a nuclear crisis.
• Requires the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) count to be no less than 400 total, which makes sure the U.S. does not unilaterally cut its nuclear deterrence while China and Russia are growing their nuclear capability.
• Ensures no fewer than 150 silos are refurbished for the Sentinel program at each location, including Minot AFB, to prevent any future administration’s decision to cut corners by reducing the number of refurbishments.

Grand Forks

***Click here for video and here for audio on wins for Grand Forks***

“There’s some important language here for Grand Forks, recognizing its ascension to a premier reconnaissance wing and ISR and unmanned aerial systems base,” stated Cramer. “This bill prevents any cuts of the RQ-4 Global Hawk before 2028 and puts a high priority on fully staffing and resourcing the Space Development Agency’s presence on base so they can effectively accomplish their mission. While the base largely flies unmanned, smaller systems, this NDAA also encourages the Air Force to widen the runway at Grand Forks to make sure its strategic location can be utilized by larger aircraft, like bombers.”

• Supports a $5 million increase for the U.S. Marine Corps Advanced Technology Demonstration: Hardware in the Loop capabilities and efforts by Ideal Aerosmith in Grand Forks.
• Directs the Secretary of the Air Force to provide a briefing on options to return the Grand Forks Air Force Base (AFB) Runway to its original width for possible bomber agile combat exercises and future strategic bomber usage. Currently, the Grand Forks AFB largely flies unmanned systems on a nearly 150 feet wide runway. While the Global Hawks and the other smaller aircraft flying out of the base do not typically need a big, wide runway to complete its missions, moving the lights further out will expand the runway and allow bombers and other large aircraft to utilize the base.
• Prohibits the retirement of the RQ-4 Global Hawks at Grand Forks before September 30, 2028. The Global Hawk is working harder than ever around the world, and this legislation ensures the Air Force will have a plan to keep them flying and not degrade through attrition.

The Space Development Agency (SDA) has expanded its mission at Grand Forks AFB within the last year, to include both the Ground Operations and Integration Center as well as the Test and Checkout Center. SDA will fly missile warning and tracking satellites out of the base, using space to deter and defend against America’s adversaries. This year’s NDAA:

• Expresses the sense of the Senate that the Secretary of the Air Force should fully staff SDA with three senior executive service positions. This is important to the prestige and the durability of the mission.
• Authorizes SDA to use middle tier acquisition authorities, which allows them to stay nimble while procuring and deploying satellites. Otherwise, they get bogged down in the procurement bureaucracy in the Department of Defense.
• Authorizes SDA an additional $529 million to launch the satellites to be operated out of Grand Forks AFB.

Fargo

Provides a $5 million increase for North Dakota State University’s (NDSU) work on multi-material protective systems, keeping the university’s Advanced Composites research well-funded while also keeping the Department of Defense aware of its expertise in research which helps our military.

Cavalier Space Force Station (SFS) and Perimeter Acquisition Radar Attack Characterization System (PARCS)

PARCS is a phased-array radar system which tracks over half of all earth-orbiting objects. It allows Cavalier SFS to provide critical missile warning and space surveillance data to North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), United States Space Command (USSPACECOM) and regional combatant commanders. It also provides attack characterization data to the Secretary of Defense and the President of the United States for real time war plan execution decisions.

This year’s NDAA adds $8 million for PARCS modernization. The ability to track objects in space and missiles in the air is more important than ever, and this funding will advance the Cavalier radar from 1970s analog to a more modern, digital processing capability.

North Dakota Army National Guard and Air National Guard

• Authorizes nearly $2 million to expand Camp Grafton’s Institutional Post-Initial Military Training Unaccompanied Housing.
• Authorizes $5.425 million for the cost to complete Dickinson’s National Guard Readiness Center. This funding covers inflationary costs, which would have driven the National Guard to minimize their footprint. This funding will push the center over the finish line and ensure our North Dakota National Guard finally has the complete facility it needs.