WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), lauded the bipartisan Congressional passage of the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This legislation will strengthen America’s national security, help protect service members from brain injuries and boost the economies of Maine communities through shipbuilding and manufacturing with the hundreds of businesses that serve the military’s technological and manufacturing needs.

More specifically, the bill includes several provisions that Senator King backed, including support for service members’ health and transition to civilian status, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer for Bath Iron Works (BIW), an aggressive new military-wide approach to monitoring brain injuries, and stronger measures to prevent illegal drugs from entering the country. The bill passed out of the Senate in a 85-14 vote and now heads to the President’s desk for signature.

“For over six decades, Congress has taken a bipartisan approach to ensure that America’s military and defense forces have the training, equipment, and resources to carry out their missions. I’m proud that we could continue the tradition this year to pass an annual defense bill that will make our nation safer and stronger,” said Senator King. “As our global community faces some of its greatest challenges, the bill makes important investments in our military’s greatest asset – its people. The legislation supports good-paying jobs and manufacturing in Maine, particularly through its funding for shipbuilding at Bath Iron Works and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. These funds will help the shipyards plan their futures, continue to build the highest-quality ships, and maintain the submarine fleet that our Navy needs to accomplish missions across the globe.

“There are many more important provisions in this legislation – including a long-overdue brain injury monitoring program, fighting the opioid epidemic, and deterring Chinese and Russian aggression,” continued Senator King. “All told, this year’s NDAA will make our country safer, strengthen our economy, and support the health and safety of the men and women who fight for our freedoms.”

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025 includes King-backed provisions to:

• INVEST IN MAINE SHIPBUILDING AND INSTALLATIONS — The FY25 NDAA authorizes $700 million for an additional DDG-51 Arleigh Burke-class destroyer that Bath Iron Works will build. Ann additional $85 million is provided in the form of advanced procurement funds for the entire DDG-51 program.

• The legislation also includes a legislative fix to ensure employees of public shipyards have access to quality lodging for those providing long-term, essential work at our public shipyards. This legislation also supports critical Maine National Guard facilities and authorizes funding for Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNSY) modernization efforts – including the Dry Dock extension that will allow PNSY to increase its capacity to maintain the Navy’s submarine fleet.

• PREVENT TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURIES (TBI) AND BLAST HEALTH — Included in this legislation are a majority of the components of the Blast Overpressure Safety Act that Senator King introduced with several colleagues to protect servicemembers from blast exposure and address TBI, which is considered the “signature wound” of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill also includes funding for the Special Operations Brain Health and Trauma Program.
• ENHANCE MENTAL HEALTH AND SUICIDE PREVENTION MEASURES. The bill includes a King-led provision that requires the Defense Department to update its annual suicide prevention report through 2031 and include information about the job specialty of suicide victims. Through the legislation, the Defense Department is exhorted to provide all data.  This is important to help address the underlying climate and other potential root causes. In light of the Lewiston tragedy, the bill further requires the Government Accountability Office to review suicide prevention programs for the reserves including any necessary authorities needed for better coordination with local authorities.

• FUND MAINE INNOVATION AND SMALL BUSINESSES — This legislation addresses modernizing Pratt & Whitney’s important contribution in North Berwick to building F-35 engines, This legislation aids University of Maine-driven research and development in soil stabilization and infrastructure resiliency, textile developments, and digital manufacturing. It addresses Maine’s leadership in the production of tungsten alloys and the importance of Defense Industrial Alliances such as the Maine Defense Industrial Alliance. It further supports the highly technical and unique work of Maine’s composites industry including support for a re-entry vehicle pilot program and expeditionary shelters. Senator King continues to support the Arctic including the Arctic Watch Tower initiative and Arctic research at UMaine.

• COMBAT ILLEGAL DRUG TRAFFICKING — The FY25 NDAA includes multiple King-led provisions pertaining to Counter-Transnational Organized Crime and improvements in coordination between the Combatant Commands to address the flow of fentanyl and illicit drugs.

• PFAS AND THE ENVIRONMENT — The bill includes important provisions protecting the environment, authorizing a total of $343M for Navy environmental restoration, which would go towards cleanup across multiple former naval installations, including the former Brunswick Naval Air Station.
• SUPPORT AMERICA’S VETERANS, SERVICEMEMBERS AND FAMILIES — All service members will receive a 4.5% pay bump next year. Additionally, troops in the ranks of E-1 through E-4 will get an extra 10% on top of that, for a total of 14.5% for the military's most junior troops.

• • • The Committee remained focused on improving the Transition Assistance Program through this legislation and additional measures to improve participation and training.
    • The legislation also includes multiple amendments addressing suicide prevention.

• DETER AGGRESSION FROM FOREIGN ADVERSARIES — The FY25 NDAA includes a requirement for the Secretary of Defense to submit yearly reports on the directed energy roadmap with cost data to deter aggression from our adversaries like Russia, Iran and China.

• ENHANCE PUBLIC-PRIVATE CYBERSECURITY READINESS — The bill addresses how small businesses and universities obtain and maintain cybersecurity protections, with direct input from the University of Maine and Maine small businesses.

• MAINE NATIONAL GUARD AND SERVICEMEMBER READINESS — At Senator King’s request, this legislation includes military construction funding for the Maine Guard at Bangor and Saco.  This is essential for modernizing facilities. In addition, the Bill includes a provision that helps protect the Air National Guard, ensuring that as the Air Force modernizes the tanker fleet, it replaces older aircraft on a one-for-one basis.  

• MODERNIZE CRITICAL NUCLEAR DETERRENCE — As Chairman of the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, Senator King is a Congressional leader working to modernize the nation’s nuclear arsenal and address the threats posed by new hypersonic weapons. The bill strengthens the nuclear triad and nuclear command and control including cyber protections and addressing concerns with Artificial Intelligence. The bill also includes important oversight of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and nuclear modernization programs to help address cost and defense industrial base concerns.

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