San Antonio Standard

Congressman Tony Gonzales of Texas has supported the passage of the Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025, known as the FY25 NDAA. The legislation, passed in the U.S. House of Representatives, aims to increase pay for junior enlisted servicemembers by 14.5% and provides a 4.5% raise for all servicemembers. Congressman Gonzales emphasized his commitment to improving military personnel's living conditions and addressing cost-of-living issues.

"Addressing cost of living issues and improving the quality of life for our men and women in uniform is a top priority of mine," said Congressman Gonzales. He highlighted his personal connection to the issue, having served in the military for two decades.

The FY25 NDAA also allocates funds for infrastructure projects to improve military housing across South and West Texas, with over $260 million secured by Congressman Gonzales. Projects include construction at Lackland AFB and Fort Sam Houston Medical Education & Training Campus in San Antonio, improvements at Laughlin AFB in Del Rio, and completion of infrastructure at Fort Bliss in El Paso.

The legislation addresses several key priorities: enhancing servicemember quality of life, supporting law enforcement operations along borders, boosting military readiness with new technologies, increasing oversight within the Department of Defense (DoD), and deterring aggression from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Among its provisions are authorizations for constructing childcare centers, supporting military spouses' employment opportunities, building new schools on DoD installations, extending recruitment bonuses to meet enlistment goals, deploying National Guard troops to assist Border Patrol activities, developing counter-drone systems, conducting annual independent audits within DoD components, and investing in technologies like hypersonics and AI.

Gonzales underscored that these measures are essential for national security: "The men and women who answered the call to serve are vital to our nation’s national security mission."