WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a combat veteran and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Monday announced that she secured a number of her priorities in the annual defense bill, the FY2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Ernst said also, “This important bill ensures the United States military remains the most lethal fighting force on the face of the planet.”

Included in the FY2023 NDAA is focus on:

Supporting our partners:

• Key parts of the senator’s bipartisan DEFEND Act to create an integrated air and missile defense network with Middle Eastern partners to counter Iran.
• Providing training to Ukrainian forces on how to de-mine the Black Sea.

Ending energy reliance on our adversaries:

• The bipartisan HARD ROCK Act to rebuild the National Defense Stockpile and force DoD to procure critical minerals from the U.S. or our partners and allies.
• An initiative to prevent INDOPACOM from procuring energy from adversaries, specifically North Korea, Iran, Russia, and China.
• A provision to limit DoD’s procurement of electric vehicles with parts sourced by slave and child labor.

Standing with our servicemembers:

• Standardizing how the military diagnoses traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder across all military services.
• Ending the DoD’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate due to readiness and end strength concerns.
• A pay increase for our servicemembers.