01.01.21

Sullivan Votes for Final Passage of National Defense Authorization Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support, released the following statement after voting with 80 of his Senate colleagues to override President Donald Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021. 

“The FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act is significant for three important reasons,” said Senator Sullivan. “First, this bill continues the build-up of the U.S. military both across the globe and in our state, authorizing more than $150 million in construction projects and critical jobs for hard-working Alaskans, as well as a much-needed pay raise for our military members. Second, from the creation of a Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies to again authorizing six polar class icebreakers, the FY 2021 NDAA clearly cements Alaska as the center of gravity for America’s economic and security interests in the Arctic region. Finally, and for the first time ever, this year’s defense bill includes the U.S. Coast Guard authorization, much of which my team and I drafted. The inclusion of this bill in the NDAA sends a clear message to the brave men and women of our nation’s fifth military branch—the Coast Guard—that they are an integral and vital part of our nation’s military.”

The FY 2021 NDAA originally passed the Senate on December 11, 2020. The bill includes a number of Sullivan-authored provisions that address the strategic importance of the Arctic, secure America’s critical minerals supply chains, and authorize more than $150 million for military construction projects in Alaska. Finally, the FY 2020 NDAA incorporates the U.S. Coast Guard authorization for the first time in history. As chair of the Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Security, which has oversight of the Coast Guard, Sullivan has been championing the inclusion of the Coast Guard authorization bill in the annual NDAA since he was first elected to the Senate. 

The NDAA has moved through Congress every year for the past 60 years.

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