Senator Young Includes Indiana and National Priorities in Final FY 2018 Defense Bill
WASHINGTON DC – Yesterday, the United States Senate passed the Conference Report for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes language Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) worked to incorporate. Young, who served in the Marine Corps and now serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, worked successfully to include language in the Conference Report that urges the Navy and Air Force to increase integration, co-location, and commonality as they modernize and sustain our nation’s nuclear deterrent. Crane currently provides significant support to the Navy’s strategic programs, but could provide much more support for the Air Force’s strategic programs.
“As we modernize and sustain all three legs of our nuclear triad, I continue to encourage the Air Force and Navy to look for opportunities to integrate efforts to achieve the maximum capability at the lowest cost to the taxpayers. I am pleased that the annual defense bill’s Conference Report includes language to further that objective,” Senator Young said. “In addition to its mission-critical support for the Navy, Crane can do much more for the Air Force. That would be not only a win for Crane, but also a win for the services, the taxpayers, and the security of Americans.”
Young also worked successfully to include a provision in the final defense bill that requires a comprehensive review of U.S. maritime intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and targeting capabilities.
Young said, “In light of growing Chinese and Russian maritime capabilities, this review will help ensure that the United States retains the naval supremacy necessary to keep vital shipping lanes open, deter aggression, and defend our national security interests.”
Finally, Young also worked to include language in the Conference Report that pushes the Pentagon to implement Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommendations that would improve the Department of Defense’s efficiency and performance, strengthen Congressional oversight, and cut waste.
Young said, “In light of our nation’s finite resources and the growing threats we confront, we must push the Pentagon to adopt commonsense GAO reforms that will cut waste and improve combat capability and capacity. After all, every dollar wasted is a dollar we don’t have to arm, train, and equip our warfighters.”
The NDAA, an essential defense bill that Congress has passed for each fiscal year for more than a half century, now goes to the President for signature.