Prior to impeachment hearings, the U.S. Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act on Tuesday 86-8. Several of the provisions within the act were priorities sponsored by Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth. Duckworth’s main priorities were preventing low-income service members from going hungry, making it easier for Illinois’s small businesses to secure Department of Defense contracts, make the federal contracting process more efficient and further secure the Rock Island, Illinois Arsenal’s future.
Duckworth also secured updates to military housing to prevent lead poisoning in water used on bases and off-base housing; secure U.S. citizenship for non-citizen service members and veterans, and provide skills training and apprenticeship to the National Laboratories and the National Nuclear Security Administration.
The NDAA also secured $100 million in military construction for a new Joint Operations and Mission Planning Center at Scott Air Force Base. The act also extends $75 million for the Rock Island Arsenal to use in the Quad Cities for public infrastructure needs to keep the arsenal and the surrounding communities up to date.
The act now heads to President Donald Trump for his signature.