Antelope Valley Today

Representative Mike Garcia (CA-27) voted in favor of the FY25 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) today. The bill includes Rep. Garcia’s proposal for a historic pay raise for junior enlisted troops and aims to equip the military with necessary tools to defend national interests.

“This NDAA rightly focuses our military on its core mission: Deter and win wars,” said Rep. Garcia. “And it does so by including my proposal to give nearly one million of our junior enlisted troops the highest pay raise in history. These brave men and women are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our freedom, and it’s unacceptable that tens of thousands of them are struggling to stay above the poverty line and off food stamps. I’m proud that we’re providing this much-deserved, overdue pay raise to better support our servicemembers and their families."

Garcia highlighted other key aspects of the bill, stating, “This bill also expedites innovation and reduces the acquisition timeline for new weaponry; funds the deployment of National Guard to help secure our southwest border; strengthens our nuclear posture and missile defense programs; supports our allies; invests in our undersea capabilities; and more. In short, this critical national defense bill ensures our warfighters are better taken care of and capable of winning on any battlefield.”