Senator Schmitt Works to Combat DEI Funding, Secures Funding for Critical Missouri Military Installations in National Defense Authorization Act

WASHINGTON – Earlier today, the Senate Armed Services Committee completed their markup of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which will head to the floor for a full Senate vote soon. As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Eric Schmitt worked to secure funding for Missouri’s critical military installations, and also fought to bring to light wasteful spending on DEI initiatives to ensure every single dollar is spent solely to ensure increased preparedness and lethality within our military.

“The state of Missouri has a deep and proud military culture, spanning from Whiteman Air Force Base to Fort Leonard Wood. As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, my mission is to ensure that every single penny that we spend on defense goes towards increasing our preparedness to combat global threats like China. I am pleased to have secured critical funding for Missouri’s major military installations in this year’s National Defense Authorization Act that does just that,” said Senator Eric Schmitt. “Unfortunately, divisive DEI has crept into our nation’s military, which is hurting recruitment and driving a wedge between our servicemembers who rely deeply on working cohesively as a team. Our nation’s military is one of the single greatest meritocracies, and I intend to work to keep it that way. I fought to include amendments that will bring transparency to just how time and money much our military is spending on this divisive DEI, and enact a freeze on creating new DEI administrator positions or filling vacant DEI jobs. I intend to continue the fight to use defense funding solely on preparedness and lethality, not woke pet projects.”

Background:

• Senator Schmitt fought to include several key amendments that combat divisive DEI spending in the military and ensure every dollar is being spent on preparedness and lethality, including:
  • An amendment that directs the GAO to fully audit DoD’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) workforce and its planned expansion over the next five years to provide necessary transparency to the resources DoD is expending in pursuit of unnecessary DEI initiatives. 
  • An amendment that prohibits DoD from establishing new DEI administrator positions and/or filling vacancies in currently existing DEI billets
  • An amendment that requires a Secretary of Defense report detailing the total man hours and resources expended on DEI training in 2023. 
• In addition to those amendments, Senator Schmitt was able to include amendments that will reduce our reliance on foreign supply chains for troop equipment procurement and an amendment that will prohibit DoD from contracting for online education services that could result in US citizens’ data falling under control of the People’s Republic of China.
• The FY 2024 NDAA also included funding for Missouri’s critical military installations, including:
  • Fort Leonard Wood: $50,000,000 for family housing
  • Whiteman Air Force Base: $87,623,000 for B-2 operations.
  • National Nuclear Security Administration Kansas City National Security Campus: $3,097,167,000 in stockpile major modernization.

• Boeing in St. Louis: $100,006,000 in funding for F-15 Strike Eagle purchases and $1.2 Billion for MQ-25 Stingray
• Rosecrans ANG Base: $2,000,000 in funding for an Entry Control Point and $2,000,000 in funding for the 139th Airlift Wing Entry Point.
• Senator Schmitt recently introduced a bipartisan bill, the Military Spouse Career Support Act of 2023, which increases job flexibility for military spouses during relocations. The bill was included in the Senate Armed Service Committee’s bill for this year’s NDAA.
  • Read about it here.