Congressman Panetta Selected to Serve as National Defense Authorization Act Conferee **Congressman Panetta will represent his Committee on Ways and Means and push for inclusivity and our Central Coast priorities in finalizing the legislation**

SALINAS, CA – Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) has been selected to serve as a conferee for the FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The NDAA authorizes Department of Defense programs, spending, and priorities for the coming fiscal year. Democrat and Republican Congress members and Senators are selected by their leadership as conferees to work together to resolve differences between the two national security bills from the House of Representatives and the Senate. “I am honored to serve as an NDAA conferee in support of our men and women in uniform, the installations on the Central Coast of California, and the security of our nation,” said Congressman Panetta. “Although I was able to successfully incorporate numerous provisions in the House legislation to enhance support services for our nation’s troops and their families, improve military housing, and advance our national security, I now get to confer with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and the Capitol to ensure that those elements stay in the final bill. I look forward to also securing key priorities for our service members, including a critical pay raise for our military, improvements to sexual assault prevention and response in the armed forces, a billion-dollar Pandemic Preparedness and Resilience National Security Fund, expanded paid parental leave for civilian employees, and investments in combating the climate crises. Moreover, it is through the NDAA that we can initiate the process of changing the names of military bases and infrastructure named after individuals who served in the Confederacy, as our installations should reflect our ideals as Americans." Some of Congressman Panetta’s initiatives in the FY2021 NDAA include: Defense Language Improvement Act: Grants the Defense Language Institute authority to confer a Bachelor of Arts degree in a foreign language – in addition to the currently authorized Associate degree – upon a graduate of the Institute’s Foreign Language Center. Small Manufacturers Cybersecurity Enhancement Act: Assists small manufacturers in the defense industrial supply chain with improving cybersecurity. College of International Security Affairs (CISA): Prohibits the Secretary of Defense from eliminating the College of International Security, nor the Joint Special Operations Master of Arts, without providing Congress an assessment of the impact such action would have on U.S. interests related to counterterrorism and asymmetrical warfare. Military Educational Institution Research Grants: Authorizes faculty at military educational institutions to accept research grants to support scientific, literary, and educational efforts. TRICARE for Maternal Health: Requires DOD evaluate expanded use of TRICARE pregnancy resources for servicemembers and their spouses. NNSA Diversity: Affirms Congressional support for the National Nuclear Security Administration and requires GAO review the hiring, training, and retention of a diverse and highly-educated national security workforce. Privatized Military Housing Contractor Performance Metric Assessment: Requires annual public assessment of contractor performance metrics for privatized military housing – including, tenant satisfaction, maintenance management, project safety, and financial management. SOCOM Preservation of the Force and Families: Enhances support services for Special Operations Forces, their families, and supporting personnel. NPS Space Education: Requires a report on the role of the Naval Postgraduate School in space education. Artificial Intelligence for USSOCOM Small Unit Maneuver: Requires the Director of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, in coordination with the USSOCOM Commander, to provide briefing to Congress on an assessment of Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence (ML/AI) technologies to enable operational maneuver, autonomous or otherwise, in highly contested environments with near-peer adversaries. The annual NDAA covers the breadth of the operations of the Department of Defense as well as the national security functions of the Department of Energy and other related areas. The annual national defense budget involves millions of military and civilian personnel, thousands of facilities, and hundreds of agencies, departments, and commands located around the world.