Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), on Thursday voted to support the annual National Defense Authorization Act, which renews and extends Pentagon programs and other policy matters. The package included several provisions authored by Grassley to strengthen law enforcement and expand outlets for government accountability.
“Providing for the national defense is the number one job of the federal government. This bill ensures that critical programs are in place to support our military service members and keep Americans safe,” Grassley said.
Grassley-backed policy priorities in the NDAA include:
- Preventing Child Sex Abuse Act – Grassley-authored legislation to strengthen laws against child sex tourism and other sex offenses. The bill previously passed the full Senate.
- Baltic Security Resolution – Bolsters DoD reporting on the Baltic Security Initiative to ensure security assistance plans are updated in light of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine and NATO’s new regional defense plans agreed to at the recent NATO Vilnius Summit.
- Counterfeit Merchandise Interdiction – Grassley-authored amendment would give US Customs and Border Protection explicit authorization to share information found on the packaging of suspected counterfeit imports with e-commerce platforms, carriers, and Intellectual property rights holders. In doing so, it would aid the joint efforts of US industry and the US Government to identify and interdict imports that threaten consumer health and safety, pose threats to US security, and harm the US economy, while also helping efforts to trace these imports to their source. The amendment stems from a Grassley-led investigation into counterfeits.
- Intelligence Community Whistleblower Reporting Provisions (Intelligence Authorization Act) – Grassley-authored provision allowing members of the intelligence community to bring claims of wrongdoing to congressional committees beyond the intelligence committees. The Act also includes a provision that makes clear nothing in the Act overturns FBI whistleblower protections.
Farmland Security Enhancements – Amendment by Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) similar to Grassley’s Food Security is National Security Act, which protects against foreign acquisition of U.S. farmland and agricultural businesses.
