Congressman Crow Secures Key Wins in Annual Defense Bill for Colorado

WASHINGTON — Congressman Jason Crow (CO-06), a former Army Ranger who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, announced today that more than 15 provisions he championed have been successfully included in the annual National Defense Authorization Act. Congressman Crow’s provisions focused on improving the lives of servicemembers and their families, modernizing our military to make America more safe, and investing in Colorado’s space industry to make us more competitive.

“I served in combat and know the critical role Congress plays in improving the quality of life for servicemembers, strengthening our military readiness, and keeping Americans safe,” said Congressman Crow. “As a Member of the Armed Services Committee, I’ve worked in a bipartisan fashion to secure key wins for Colorado and support our men and women in uniform.”

Congressman Crow’s provisions included in this year’s Pentagon budget include:

Improving the Lives of our Servicemembers:

• Upgrading Digital Health Technologies for Traumatic Brain Injury: Improves care for active-duty servicemembers suffering from a traumatic brain injury (TBI) by identifying ways that digital technology can be used to better deliver care.
• Preventing Traumatic Brain Injuries in Fighter Pilots: Directs the Department of Defense to create a strategy to better identify, document, and treat TBIs in active duty pilots.
• Providing Dental for Our Troops: Ensures no-cost dental care for all reservists, which will help recruiting, retention, and readiness.
• Securing affordable health care for servicemembers: Ensures children’s hospitals that serve a large population of active duty families can continue providing high quality, affordable healthcare for servicemembers and their children.

Investing in Colorado’s Space Industry & Making America More Competitive:

• Bolstering Crucial Space Programs: Provides U.S. Space Systems Command with the resources needed to compete tactically and technologically with our adversaries in outer space.
• Modernizing Rocket Launches: Requires the Space Force to report to Congress on how it will modernize standards and processes around rocket launches so they are safer and more efficient.
• Supporting Space Domain Awareness: Improves our ability to track objects, like satellites, and activities happening outside of our atmosphere.
• Increasing competition when the government buys space technology: Ensures that all companies have a fair shot when the U.S. government is looking to purchase technology that we use in space.

Modernizing our Military:

• Updating Air Force’s Flying Communications System: Authorizes support for mobile communications platforms to ensure continuity of government and national military command and control during a crisis
• Protecting Assets Against Climate Change: Ensures climate shocks don’t negatively impact military installations, training, operations, and readiness.
• Ensuring the Military Protects Civilians in Combat: Compels the Department of Defense to produce a report on how civilian harm could impact the success of military operations.
• Improving the Defense Supply Chain: Encourages changes to the way DoD buys equipment so the supply chain that supports our defense is stronger and more efficient.
• Strengthening the Afghanistan War Commission: Gives them more tools to complete their bipartisan assessment of key decisions made over twenty years of war in Afghanistan and to produce their final report.
• Maintaining a global security footprint: Prevents the elimination or consolidation of US Southern Command.
• Bolstering our strategy in Eastern Europe: Requires DoD to provide Congress an updated strategy related to NATO, and provide a detailed update on Russia's actions. 

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