Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III has sent a 15-page text to panel officials outlining his serious concerns about several hundred pending NDAAs in the House or Senate.
Some of these are” topics of significant concern” , , Austin , wrote in the , Sept. 26 , letter, obtained by , CQ Roll Call. “lf left unanswered, specific provisions in the House-passed or , Senate-proposed bills may greatly impact the Department’s ability to accomplish our proper goals”.
House and Senate , communicators have begun reconciling the House-passed governmental 2025 NDAA, or National Defense Authorization Act, with the Senate Armed Services Committee’s type and promise to clear a parliamentary determine later this month.
Austin’s new message is this year’s edition of an yearly Pentagon conversation, known as the “heartburn letter”. The office informs the license committees of the House or Senate NDAA provisions that are giving the department concern as lawmakers work to draft the measure’s final version.
The new letter reiterates some Pentagon problems that were previously known — for example, about provisions in the , House GOP-authored bill to limit what the , U. S.  , government can do on” society battle” matters such as trans health care and diversification development.
But the report even reveals , Defense Department , worries about many other procedures that are less well-known. Additionally, there are details on various price estimates and fiscal implications, as well as information on a number of NDAA proposals to recommend or proscribe weapons or martial organizations.
Austin , thanked the defence authorizers for big purchases in , U. S.  , security programs.
” Nevertheless”, he added,” the respective FY 2025 House-passed and , Senate-proposed NDAA bills include certain provisions of significant concern to the Department”.
In the report,  , Austin , reiterated the district’s opposition to procuring a second Virginia-class strike underwater in governmental 2025. He expressed to officials his concern that U.S. and U.S. sub companies lack the workforce and capacity to build two attack subs this fiscal year and deliver them on what he called” a reasonable schedule.”
The minister claimed that the$ 400 million split to the Navy’s “next generation warrior” system, which was “unexecutable and degrading the Navy’s ability to discipline next generation aircraft capabilities required in the 2033 to 2037 timeframe, may be due to being required to build the second sub.
In addition,  , Austin , said the department” strongly objects” to the House’s proposal to increase pay for junior enlisted military personnel by nearly 20 %, saying it is excessive and would unacceptably narrow the difference between junior and senior pay rates.
The House’s proposed pay changes “would cost over$ 3.3 billion in FY 2025 and a total of more than$ 21.9 billion from FYs 2025 to 2029”, he wrote.
Austin , also pushed back against proposed directives on what the Pentagon should buy or maintain in its inventories.
He objected, for example, to the House bill’s requirement that the Pentagon build a third missile-defense site on the , East Coast , to protect against a ballistic missile attack. He claimed that the$ 5 billion project would not be necessary.
He also expressed concern about mandates in one or both bills to limit the Pentagon’s options for force structure and basing decisions or to restrict the department’s planned reductions to particular aircraft and other assets.
He also criticized a House rule that would prevent the planned 3, 000-soldier reduction to Army special forces end strength.
Similarly,  , Austin , assailed the , Senate , bill’s proposed restrictions on cutting , U. S.  , forces in , Syria , and on closing the , U. S.  , military-run prison at , Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, or moving detainees from there to , U. S.  , prisons.
Austin , also opposed a , Senate , mandate to reestablish a chief management officer position and another to set up a new assistant secretary for nuclear deterrence policy and programs.
He took aim, too, at a House proposal to cut the department’s discretionary budget by 0.5 % if the Pentagon does not produce an “unqualified audit opinion” on its financial books by 2029.
The Pentagon released a department-wide audit with a disclaimer of opinion for the sixth straight fiscal year last November, which meant independent auditors were once more unable to draw conclusions from them.
Austin , also opposed inclusion of 23 military construction projects that would only be partly funded and as such, he said, would create an “unfunded obligation” of$ 2.4 billion in future budgets. And he encountered proposals to reduce fully funded projects that would allow lawmakers to pay for their preferred work in the president’s request.
The House-approved so-called culture war provisions that drew Austin’s opposition in the letter would:
—Cut back on programs to promote “diversity, equity and inclusion”.
—Bar the military’s health care system from covering gender transition.
—Prohibit spending on certain initiatives to address military “resilience and survivability” in the face of climate change.
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