Rep. Peters Secures San Diego Defense Priorities, Votes for 2025 National Defense Authorization Act

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Representative Scott Peters (CA-50) voted to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025, which includes substantial wins for San Diego. These wins include Rep. Peters' bill to support San Diego's ship repair industry, a new healthcare center at Camp Pendleton, Rep. Peters' bill to make it easier for servicemembers to access student loan forgiveness, funds for science and technology programs that benefit San Diego's defense economy, improvements to military housing, and a significant 14.5% pay increase for junior enlisted servicemembers and 4.5% for all other servicemembers.

"This bill advances our national security and supports San Diego's enduring role in our national defense," said Rep Peters. "For 65 years, this annual bipartisan agreement has allowed us to keep up with the challenges of our times. For FY 2025, this means significant pay raises for servicemembers, investing in critical military construction in San Diego, and bolstering San Diego's ship-repair industry and the thousands of good jobs it supports.

He continued, "This bill, however, also included a last-second, anti-LGBTQ youth health provision. This move was opposed by both the Republican Chair and highest-Ranking Democratic Member of the House Armed Services Committee, because they know that our readiness for war is far more important than the culture wars. I vehemently oppose this provision and call on my colleagues in the Senate to strip it out of the final version of the legislation before it becomes law."

The FY 25 NDAA included Rep. Peters' bipartisan legislation with Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI-3) to cut through red tape and make it easier for current and former military service members to receive student loan forgiveness they have earned through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. In 2021, the U.S. Department of Education announced they would automatically count military members' service toward the PSLF program instead of requiring them to go through a lengthy and complicated certification process, but the change was never implemented because the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Defense failed to finalize a critical data-sharing agreement. This legislation will ensure that it gets done.

The FY 25 NDAA also includes Rep. Peters' Smart Ship Repair Act (SSRA) of 2024, a follow-up to Rep. Peters' SSRA of 2023, which became law last year. The SSRA of 2024 would require the Navy to change its current practice of soliciting ship repair contracts on a coast-wide basis from availabilities longer than ten months to only those projected to last more than 18 months. Under current policy, ships homeported in San Diego that need more than ten months to complete their maintenance cycle could be moved to other facilities along the West Coast if those companies provide a more competitive bid to the Navy. This challenges how the San Diego ship repair cluster can recruit and maintain its workforce and invest in its facilities, while also forcing sailors to possibly spend their time ashore away from their families after executing a long deployment at sea.

The FY 25 NDAA also:

• Includes a 14.5% pay increase for junior enlisted (E-4 and below) and a 4.5 % pay increase for all other servicemembers.
• Eliminates copays for eligible TRICARE beneficiaries for contraceptives acquired through retail pharmacies and the national mail-order pharmacy.
• Authorizes $106 million for Ambulatory Care Center at Camp Pendleton.
• Adds $177 million in military construction design funds to accelerate the replacement of poor and failing unaccompanied housing and barracks.
• Ensures that pay for childcare staff at DoD childcare centers is competitive with that of the private industry.
• Authorizes $33.5 billion for procurement of seven new battle force ships.
• Authorizes $17.5 billion for science and technology programs that benefit San Diego's defense economy.
• Authorizes $463.8 million for the NATO Security Investment Program to help European allies and partners confront Russian aggression.
• Procures one additional Virgina Class Attack Submarine.