Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi Secures Key For Provisions In National Defense Authorization Act To Counter Adversaries Including The Chinese Communist Party

December 14, 2023
Press Release

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ranking Member of the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party voted to pass H.R. 2670, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024, which invests in core elements of American national defense, including our service members, our commitments to security partners and allies, and our own industrial base and capacity. Provisions spearheaded by Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi in the package included authorizing AUKUS (the trilateral security partnership for the Indo-Pacific region between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States), the American Security Drone Act, and the implementation of a range of provisions he advocated for through the Select Committee’s bipartisan reports, including Ten For Taiwan Policy Recommendations to Preserve Peace and Stability in the Taiwan Strait (released May 24, 2023).

The NDAA also included the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (IAA), which authorizes funding for the United States Intelligence Community (IC) and strengthens congressional oversight of the IC’s methods of collecting and analyzing information. The IAA includes measures secured by Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi, including provisions to advance American microelectronics research essential to artificial intelligence, to develop 6G and successor technologies, and to require the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to prepare a report on the Chinese Communist Party’s genocide against Uyghurs. These provisions were also included in the Select Committee on the CCP’s bipartisan reports on the Uyghur Genocide and on economic competition with the CCP released this Congress.

The microelectronics provision also builds on the research successes of the MicroE4AI program, a $15 million grant program created by the Seeding Enterprises in the Microelectronics Industry (SEMI) Act that Reps. Krishnamoorthi and Chris Stewart (R-UT-02) introduced and secured the inclusion of in the FY21 Intelligence Authorization Act in December 2020.

“I was proud to join my colleagues from both parties in passing this year’s National Defense Authorization Act and Intelligence Authorization Act to strengthen our national security and intelligence capabilities, while preparing our country to face the threats posed by adversaries, including the Chinese Communist Party (CCP),” said Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi. “To support our nation’s capacity to address such threats, I championed provisions in the legislation, including the authorization of the AUKUS security partnership, the American Security Drone Act – which protects federal agencies from drones compromised by the CCP,— as well as legislation to advance our national capabilities in artificial intelligence, 6G, and the technologies that will succeed it. To help expose the horrors of the Chinese Communist Party’s genocide against the Uyghur people, I also spearheaded the inclusion of the Uygur Genocide Intelligence Act to produce an intelligence assessment of those atrocities.”

 

“Finally, the NDAA also makes major advances in American relations with Taiwan through the implementation of a number of provisions I advocated for with Chairman Gallagher as part of our committee’s Ten For Taiwan: Policy Recommendations to Preserve Peace and Stability in the Taiwan Strait. The legislative package’s inclusion of provisions to address our recommendations will make the United States, Taiwan, and the Indo-Pacific Region more secure by strengthening regional security partnerships, modernizing munition procurement and stockpiling, strengthening economic deterrence, increasing military training with Taiwan, and enhancing cyber resiliency. The security challenges faced by the United States, our allies, and our security partners are significant, but this year’s NDAA will help prepare us to meet them.”

Provisions in the NDAA championed by Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi included:

  1. The American Security Drone Act, a bill for which he is the Democratic lead, which bans the federal operation and procurement of drones from countries that pose a national security threat, such as DJI drones from the PRC; [insert link for econ report]
  2. Establishing an IARPA program for next-generation microelectronics in support of artificial intelligence. The legislation requires the DNI, acting through the Director of Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), to establish or otherwise oversee a program to advance microelectronics research and to provide regular briefings and recommendations to the congressional intelligence committees on this subject. [insert link for econ report]
  3. Establishes an IARPA program dedicated to research and development efforts relevant to 6G technology and any successor technologies by requiring the DNI, acting through the Director of IARPA, to initiate or otherwise carry out a program dedicated to research and development efforts relevant to 6G technology and any successor technologies. [insert link for econ report]
  4. The Uyghur Genocide Intelligence Act, which the Ranking Member cosponsored requires the DNI to prepare an intelligence report on various aspects of the Uyghur genocide. [insert link for Uyghur report]
  5. The authorization of the AUKUS, the security partnership among Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, including by authorizing the sale of up to 3 Virginia-class submarines to Australia; providing for the acceptance of Australian funds to support the U.S. submarine industrial base as well as facilitating the training of Australian submarine workers and streamlining the sharing of advanced technologies under AUKUS. Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi cosponsored  the AUKUS Undersea Defense Act.
  6. Measures to ensures that India is appropriately considered for security cooperation benefits consistent with the status of India as a major defense partner of the United States. This was a recommendation in Ten For Taiwan Policy Recommendations to Preserve Peace and Stability in the Taiwan Strait.
  7. Requires plan to advance the integration of long-range anti-ship missiles onto legacy aircraft fleets. This was a recommendation in Ten For Taiwan Policy Recommendations to Preserve Peace and Stability in the Taiwan Strait.
  8. Requires report to enhance implementation of the FY 23 NDAA joint multi-year plan to fulfill the defensive requirements of the military forces of Taiwan. This was a recommendation in Ten For Taiwan Policy Recommendations to Preserve Peace and Stability in the Taiwan Strait.
  9. Provision to direct an assessment of the PRC defense budget to accurately assess overall PRC defense spending.
  10. A measure requiring the Department of Defense to conduct an assessment of biotechnology companies headquartered in China to determine if they should be identified as Chinese military companies operating in the United States and included on the 1260H list.
  11. Provisions he led supporting continued investment in research, development, and fielding of unmanned aerial, surface, and underwater vehicles
  12. Measures he co-led to support strengthening working-level communication and coordination with Taiwan to enhance the effectiveness of the United States’ provision of defense articles to Taiwan, joint military exercises with Taiwan, and other efforts to improve Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities.

An overview of the implementation in the NDAA of other provisions from Ten For Taiwan Policy Recommendations to Preserve Peace and Stability in the Taiwan Strait can be found here.

This year’s NDAA also included several other important provisions including:

  • Vital benefits for Servicemembers and their families, the FY24 NDAA includes a 5.2% pay raise for service members and $1.5 billion for military family housing. It adds $205 million to the barracks replacement fund, and authorizes the investment of $392 million for construction, planning, and design of barracks and dormitories. It authorizes $301 million in military construction for new child development centers and $60 million in additional funds for planning and design to accelerate future child development center replacements. And it includes a combined $70 million for educational agencies with military dependent students and that serve children with severe disabilities.
  • Reaffirms our commitment to allies and partners, the FY24 NDAA makes key improvements to the security cooperation and Foreign Military Sales process, includes Congress’ opposition to the suspension, termination, denunciation, or withdrawal from the North Atlantic Treaty, extends the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) at the $300 million level through Fiscal Year 2025, and includes support for Israel and Taiwan.
  • Civilian harm mitigation measures, it includes additional oversight of ex-gratia payments where harm has been suffered by civilian survivors for damage, injury, or death inadvertently caused by the use of force of the U.S. Armed Forces or a coalition that includes the U.S., or a military organization supporting the U.S.
  • Investments in our defense industrial base, the FY24 NDAA expands the Buy America Act, which requires federal agencies to procure domestic materials and products, providing economic benefits for hardworking Americans and American industry.
  • Investments in our environment and energy, the FY24 NDAA includes numerous provisions to promote more energy efficient practices and lessen environmental impacts while specifically focusing on threats to the environment and the health of service members, including PFAS and burn pits.
  • Investments in technology and modernization, the FY24 NDAA builds on scientific and technological developments to ensure the U.S. keeps pace with key competitors while responding to emerging technologies and innovation.
  • A full summary of the FY24 NDAA is available here.

 

The IAA advanced significant bipartisan priorities, including: 

  • Retaining and Recruiting a Strong Intelligence Community Workforce through enhancing hiring incentives and talent management authorities for the Intelligence Community to recruit and retain the most capable and patriotic public servants while reducing waste in government by limiting cumbersome reporting requirements, making space for the Intelligence Community to dedicate and focus resources on current and emerging threats.
  • Bolstering Intelligence Collection and Processing From Sea to Space through investments to pursue advantages in all operational environments (air, cyber, land, sea, and space). Investments in seaborne and space-borne sensors are intended to create intelligence opportunities while reducing risks associated with new space architectures. This bill also supports the Committee’s oversight mechanisms while enhancing appropriate information sharing between agencies.
  • Adopting Cutting-Edge Technology to pave the way for an Intelligence Community Innovation Unit to identify relevant capabilities and quickly adopt technology useful to the Intelligence Community. Pivotal improvements need to be made between the Intelligence Community and the private sector, academia, government research organizations, and our allies. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence must be at the forefront of the 21st Century’s competition to leverage a national approach to addressing the many and varied threats we face.
  • Utilization of the Commercial Cloud by ensuring transparency, fairness, and accurate cost and utilization assessments. The Commercial Cloud Enterprise (C2E) contract will cost taxpayers billions of dollars over the next decade. HPSCI’s legislation will ensure the Intelligence Community is achieving the best value by utilizing advanced commercial tools and services while remaining within budget.
  • Securing Classified Systems by requiring the entire Intelligence Community to appropriately budget to meet vital cyber security requirements for national security systems no later than September 30, 2026. Threats to our classified and sensitive networks are growing, as evidenced by nation-state intrusions and insider threats. The Intelligence Community must move with a sense of urgency to add additional security measures to our classified networks.
  • Addressing Deficiencies in CIA’s Response to Sexual Assault and Harassment in the Workforce by requiring the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency to establish and implement significant policy and procedural reforms necessary to better protect and support survivors of sexual assault and sexual harassment within the Agency, and ensure that perpetrators of any crimes are appropriately held accountable.
  • Taking Steps to Improve Counterintelligence Posture Against Foreign Intelligence Threats to the United States through initiatives such as codifying and growing the CIA’s counterintelligence school, increasing resources for counterintelligence programs, and establishing necessary counterintelligence support to the Department of Agriculture to help address threats to the homeland.
  • Concrete Actions to Support the CIA Workforce including technical fixes to administrative challenges experienced by intelligence officers, aligning retention rewards to vital career fields, and providing rewards to high-demand personnel who perform important tasks.
  • Continuing Support Related to Anomalous Health Incidents through effectively investing in necessary research, and continuing the administration’s investigation into anomalous health incidents.