Key Central Coast Priorities Signed into Law in National Defense Authorization Act
Washington,
August 13, 2018
Tags:
Defense
Washington, DC – Today, the President signed into law the Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) conference report, which sets policy and authorizes funding for the U.S. military. The FY19 NDAA provides a 2.6% pay increase for our military personnel and provides the necessary resources to increase readiness through improved training and modernization efforts. The FY19 NDAA includes key policy wins for Central Coast priorities and programs authored by Rep. Salud Carbajal (CA-24), a member of the House Armed Services Committee. “The NDAA makes important investments in our military readiness, and includes initiatives to support and upgrade our cybersecurity training and spur innovative research,” said Carbajal. “While these are positive investments, I still have concerns about balancing our military spending with our domestic priorities.” The provisions authored by Carbajal and signed into law today will help designate the Central Coast as a cyber security training hub, strengthen our local engineering programs through military partnerships, and respond to the threats 3-D printing of nuclear weapons poses to our national security. Carbajal also secured various funding initiatives in the NDAA that support defense industries located on the Central Coast driving local economic growth and increasing job opportunities. Summaries of key provisions sponsored by Carbajal are below: National Guard Regional Cyber Security Training Center Pilot Program Carbajal’s amendment authorizes a National Guard cyber security training center pilot program that could build on the progress of the California Cyber Training Complex (CCTC). The National Guard has indicated their cyber training pipeline remains constrained and that they are looking into ways to accelerate joint education and training. This pilot program will collaborate with academic institutions like Cal Poly University, San Luis Obispo to develop curriculum to provide educational training on protecting critical infrastructure alongside other agencies and partners. Educational Partnership Agreements Carbajal secured $5 million in funding for the Defense Department Educational Partnership Agreement at Cal Poly. This funding supplements two programs on Cal Poly’s campus – the High-Performance Computing Lab and the Electrical and Micro Propulsion Lab. This amendment encourages DoD-academia research partnerships on the Central Coast that will ultimately help sustain the United States’ technological edge. Improving Water Security and Installation Readiness The bill directs the Secretary of Defense to report on innovative ways to reduce water use across installations and to identify opportunities to replicate the successful water-saving tactics already being deployed at installations. Funding to prevent 3D printing of nuclear weapons Carbajal successfully allocated $6 million in the bill to fund programs combatting new nonproliferation challenges from 3-D printing. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the conference report in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote.
|
