North Austin News

U.S. Congressman Michael McCaul (R-Texas), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has voted in favor of the Servicemembers Quality Of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025.

“Funding our military is one of Congress’ greatest responsibilities, and I couldn’t be more pleased that House Republicans chose to focus this year’s bill on improving the quality of life for our servicemembers and their families,” said Rep. McCaul. “If not for the bravery of these men and women — and the sacrifices made by their spouses and children — our nation would not survive. They deserve each and every benefit within this bill, which will also improve military retention rates and restore the military might our nation needs to continue outcompeting our adversaries.”

The NDAA FY25 includes an amendment proposed by Rep. McCaul aimed at improving sanitation and safety in military hospitals. Surgeons at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, recently discovered human tissue on their surgical tools. Incidents like these have posed significant risks to patients’ health and delayed crucial procedures. Rep. McCaul’s amendment mandates that the inspector general of the Defense Health Agency conduct a study on the sterilization of medical instruments at the agency and develop an action plan based on the study’s recommendations.

“Our servicemembers deserve the best medical care possible,” said Rep. McCaul. “Dirty surgical instruments present an unacceptable risk to their health. We must get to the bottom of how this happened and ensure it never happens again.”

Rep. McCaul also supports several conservative initiatives within the FY25 NDAA, which include:

- Raising servicemembers’ pay by 19.5% for junior enlisted servicemembers and 4.5% for all others;

- Constructing new houses and childcare facilities for military families;

- Expanding access to medical care, including mental health providers, for servicemembers;

- Supporting military spouses through employment programs;

- Deterring Communist China by preventing CCP espionage and bolstering Taiwan’s defense;

- Defending Israel by expanding U.S.-Israel military exercises;

- Restoring America’s military strength by opposing far-left policies such as a military Green New Deal while strengthening the defense industrial base;

- Helping secure America’s border by funding National Guard troop deployments and increasing funding for counternarcotic activities;

- Cutting $30 billion in inefficient programs, obsolete weapons, and Pentagon bureaucracy to save taxpayer dollars.

Further details about the FY25 NDAA can be found in a full summary of the bill.

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