Dear Friend,

While I far rather would have preferred the House version of the FY24 NDAA, the conferenced version does fund for our critical national defense, significantly invests in North Carolina, and contains several wins for conservatives. I cast NC-11’s vote to strengthen our national defense at home and abroad, help provide for our servicemembers and their families and root out wokeness in our military.

Our nation is facing a critical juncture in which our decisions will determine the trajectory of American and world history, and it is a priority of mine that the United States remains equipped to counter rapidly growing threats from countries such as Communist China, Iran and Russia.

Many people are wondering, “What is in the final NDAA?”

Let’s break it down. The NDAA:

• Bans funding of the Iranian government and the Taliban
• Improves America’s missile defense technology
• Funds the modernization of our nuclear triad, which includes land, sea and air-based weapon systems and missiles
• Supports our servicemembers with a 5.2 percent pay raise, the largest in 20 years

As America and our allies continue to face rising threats from adversaries, it remains especially important to restore the focus of our military’s effectiveness on its lethality to our enemies, not on expanding woke “DEI” ideologies. This bill cracks down on the woke DEI programs that have infiltrated the military by:

• Prohibiting unapproved flags, such as pride flags, to be displayed by the Department of Defense (DoD)
• Guts the Pentagon’s DEI bureaucracy by placing a hiring freeze on new DEI positions
• Completely bans Critical Race Theory in the military
• Establishes pay caps for employees with roles related to DEI policy

Some highlights of additional conservative wins include:

• Restoring meritocracy in the military by requiring promotions to be determined by merit and performance, not by other factors
• Preventing a military Green New Deal
• Instituting a Parents Bill of Rights for parents with children attending DoD schools
• Providing unprecedented support for Israel

Perhaps one of the most urgent provisions of this bill centers on procedures for those discharged during COVID-19 and the ability to reinstate members of the military who were separated from service for refusing to receive a vaccination.

COVID-19 discharges never should have occurred, and we must fix this grave mistake for the members of our armed forces.

I understand some folks’ concerns over a temporary four-month extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) that was added to the NDAA during the conference period. However, this issue is far from over, and I continue to advocate for substantial FISA reforms during this temporary extension of FISA authority that will protect our citizens’ constitutional rights.

Last, as our nation deals with debt on a debilitating scale, this bill will require the DoD to pass an audit, which means that the tax dollars spent toward this $886 billion bill will be accountable to public scrutiny.

While I am disappointed that some conservative priorities were dropped in the conference process, I’m confident that we have secured significant victories to bolster our nation’s war-fighting capabilities, improve our servicemembers’ quality of life and strengthen global deterrence. The passage of this legislation is absolutely necessary to maintain America’s strength around the globe.

Celebrating WNC’s newest class of service academy nominees

Congratulations to WNC’s newest class of service academy nominees for North Carolina’s 11th District!

I was proud to nominate 12 high school students from our mountains to attend one of the United States’ service academies after a rigorous application process.

WNC is proud of these students who represent the best of our beautiful district and nation. With these students assisting at the helm of our nation’s armed forces, America’s future is looking bright!

With my warmest regards,

Chuck Edwards
Member of Congress