An annual military spending costs that will bring billion to , New Mexico , passed , Congress , last week and was signed into law by President , Joe Biden , on Monday.
The National Defense Authorization Act authorizes$ 895 billion in spending, including$ 33.5 billion for nuclear weapons programs in the , Energy Department. It authorizes monthly expenses for organisations in , New Mexico , like the radioactive waste storage service near , Carlsbad , and approved a defense pay increase.  , New Mexico , has 14, 301 active-duty company members, as well as 7, 551 , National Guard and reserve , people.
” This NDAA includes much-needed pay raises for our men and women in uniform, improvements environmental remediation work, and money to improve research and development skills at our , National Laboratories”, Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N. M., said in a statement.
Thanks to the legislation, junior enlisted service members will get a 14.5 % pay increase, while the rest of the military gets a 4.5 % pay raise. Last year’s NDAA included a 5.2 % pay raise for all military service members, as well as , Department of Defense , civil service workers.
The newly signed bill includes a controversial provision that prevents parents with Tricare, the military health program, from using it for gender-affirming care for their children under 18— a measure that caused , New Mexico ‘s , Democratic congresswomen,  , Teresa Leger Fernández , and , Melanie Stansbury, to vote against it.
” Sadly, children are more likely to attempt and commit suicide when they are bullied, and this bill amounts to bullying at a national scale” , , Leger Fernández , said during a speech on the House floor. I won’t interfere with a patriotic parent who is serving in the military and the care they want to give their kids.
Where defense dollars are headed in , New Mexico
The spending bill authorizes$ 25 billion for the , National Nuclear Security Administration , overall, with$ 1.5 billion for , Los Alamos National Lab ‘s , research and development programs.
The NDAA grants a$ 425.4 million budget for the annual Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. WIPP, near , Carlsbad, is the only place where the , U. S.  , disposes of transuranic nuclear waste, which includes things like clothing or tools contaminated with plutonium.
Additionally, Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratory environmental cleanup costs$ 277 million.
In New Mexico, the NDAA grants millions of dollars for new construction and a helicopter simulator. There’s$ 50 million to , Sandia National Laboratories , for facility upgrades at the , Power Sources Technology Group, the Los Alamos funding includes$ 48.5 million for a plutonium safety and quality building,  , White Sands Missile Range , will get$ 29 million to build a new missile assembly support building, and$ 15.5 million for , Kirtland Air Force Base , to get a combat rescue helicopter simulator.
___
( c ) 2024 the Albuquerque Journal
Distributed by , Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
