U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) welcomed the Senate Appropriations Committee’s bipartisan passage of the Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) Defense Appropriations bill. This comes after the committee advanced the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill last month. Next, all Appropriations bills will be considered by the full Senate.
"The investments in this bipartisan bill will strengthen New Mexico’s military installations and provide key support to the service members who are dedicated to defending our freedom and protecting our national security,” said Heinrich. “As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I am committed to maintaining strong support for New Mexico's defense missions and securing forward-looking investments that ensure our military will remain the strongest and best-equipped in the world."
Senator Heinrich has long championed provisions that benefit New Mexico’s servicemembers, national laboratories, and defense missions, including as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee from 2013 to 2020 and as Chairman of the Senate Appropriation’s Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee from 2021 to 2022.
Defense Appropriations Bill Highlights
Supporting Service Members and Families
Senator Heinrich was a strong advocate of several provisions included in the bill to support service members and their families.
These included fully funding the 5.2 percent pay raise for service members, $29.6 billion for housing, and $8.4 billion for subsistence. The bill also adds $20 million for the renovation and repairs of child development centers (CDCs) and $33 million to support programs for childcare workers at CDCs to help address challenges installations around the country are facing in hiring and retaining childcare workers. To expand high-quality, early education at Department of Defense Education Activity schools, $94 million is provided for full-day, universal pre-K—an increase of $66.5 million over last year—which will double enrollment.
The bill also adds $47 million for continued implementation and expansion of the Sexual Assault Special Victims’ Counsel Program to help survivors of sexual assault seek justice, provides $59.2 million for the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office to support sexual assault prevention programs, and provides $18.3 million, an increase of $10 million over the request, to implement the recommendations of the Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee.
Defense Communities
Senator Heinrich successfully advocated for an increase of $451 million above the President’s budget to support defense communities, including: $50 million for the Defense Community Infrastructure Program; and $401 million for defense environmental mitigation activities, including PFAS cleanup, aqueous film-forming foam removal and disposal, the Military Munitions Response Program, the Installation Restoration Program, and the Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration program.
Artificial Intelligence
Senator Heinrich secured $141 million above the President’s budget request to continue implementing recommendations from the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence. The bill also adds an additional $90 million to advance the Department of Defense’s adoption of artificial intelligence, accelerating the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer’s plans by one fiscal year.
Readiness and Resilience
Senator Heinrich secured a $20.3 million increase for addressing encroachment and improving military installation resilience. As Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, Senator Heinrich recently released a report quantifying the economic impact of the climate crisis on military installations and other assets.
Space Modeling, Simulation, and Analysis Hub
Senator Heinrich secured funding to establish a Space Modeling, Simulation, and Analysis Hub to support simulations of real-world space threats. This Hub will help the U.S. Space Force achieve its 2026 target for delivering maximal operational capability in the form of new, more resilient space systems. New Mexico has a world-class public and private space ecosystem, including an exceptional workforce training pipeline, making the state a national leader on space.
Directed Energy
Senator Heinrich secured a $16 million increase for research and development of a directed energy, cyber and electronic defense system to effectively counter enemy threats. Albuquerque, New Mexico is the national leader in directed energy, having key assets that are essential to the industry.
Space Satellite Communications
Senator Heinrich secured a $7.5 million increase for continued research and development of ground-based satellite infrastructure. New Mexico is home to public and private innovation leading the way on space satellite communications.
Cyber Warfare
Senator Heinrich secured a $15 million increase for the continued research and development of an all-domain environment for information and cyber dominance. New Mexico plays a critical role in using cyber assets to protect Americans from threats at home and abroad.