Staten Island Reporter

Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11) released a statement today regarding the House's bipartisan passage of the FY25 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

"In last year's NDAA, Congress gave our servicemembers the largest pay raise in twenty years. This year, we're continuing to build on those successes by authorizing a 19.5% pay raise for our junior enlisted servicemembers, supporting another 4.5% pay raise for all others, and boosting our servicemembers' housing allowance to cover 100 percent of the average local rental rate and ensure our military men and women are able to keep up with inflation," Malliotakis stated. "This is especially important for the more than 300 families at Staten Island's Fort Wadsworth who've historically had to rely on food assistance to survive, and the countless others stationed in our borough whose allowance is still lower than the rest of New York City, despite having been increased."

Malliotakis emphasized that beyond quality of life improvements, the legislation aims to build and maintain military resources in and around the Indo-Pacific region to support allies and address threats from China. The act also includes measures to secure the southern border, such as deploying more National Guard troops to support Customs and Border Protection activities and constructing a new command center for better detection and interception of illegal migrants and drugs.

"Most importantly," she added, "the package includes a provision to prohibit the Department of Defense from using disaster and humanitarian relief funds to transport and house illegal migrants within the United States, safeguarding taxpayer dollars from being used and abused to exacerbate President Biden's open border madness."

Malliotakis concluded by stating that "The House's passage of this bill is a win for the American people, our veterans, and active duty servicemembers who've sacrificed so much for our nation and deserve the utmost support and respect. I encourage the Senate to take up this package with minimal changes so these critical benefits can be provided to our heroes without delay."