Sullivan secures $790 million in military projects for Alaska military projects FY 2025 defense authorization

Senator Dan Sullivan, who serves as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), voted with 21 of his committee colleagues last week to advance the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) from committee. The $923 billion legislation includes 34 provisions authored by Senator Sullivan and authorizes more than $790 million in military construction for Alaska.

“This year’s NDAA reinforces Alaska’ critical role in America’s national defense with more than $790 million in military construction projects,” the Senator said. “I was honored to be able to secure provisions that improve the resources, facilities and support that Alaska's service members and their families deserve—including blocking the proposed Air National Guard PEC staffing cut. I also secured a provision that directs the Navy to assess potential naval refueling locations in the Arctic, like the shuttered Adak naval base—another major recognition of Alaska as the epicenter of Arctic security operations. Importantly for hard-working Alaskans, I fought to include amendments that prohibit Chinese seafood from being sold in U.S. military commissaries or dining facilities, and rescind the Biden administration’s lawless rejection of the previously approved Ambler Access Project—a non-public road to one of America’s most prolific untapped reserves of critical minerals, resources that our country is concerningly reliant on China to produce. The Ambler amendment requires the Biden Interior Department, within 30 days of enactment of the NDAA, to select a viable path for the project across public land, as mandated by federal law. The provision would remove federal hurdles and ensure the destiny of this project is controlled by the non-federal land holders of the Northwest Arctic region, including the NANA Regional Corporation.”

Some of the Alaska-related provisions Senator Sullivan highlighted include:

Extending a travel allowance for service members stationed in Alaska to travel back to their home of record. Over 4,300 service members used this allowance in 2023 to visit family, directly impacting morale and quality of life as the Department of Defense (DoD) seeks to address mental health challenges in Alaska;

Create a pilot program to make Coast Guard installations eligible for the Defense Community Infrastructure Program, which funds infrastructure improvements. This would include schools and police stations for communities in Alaska near Coast Guard stations;

Prohibit military dining facilities and commissaries from purchasing or selling seafood that originates or is processed in the People’s Republic of China;

Provide a one-year stay on the Air National Guard Program Element Code (PEC)-leveling, which would have negatively impacted the Alaska National Guard and its critical homeland defense mission.

Require the Navy to provide a detailed investment plan on how to make the pier and shore support in Adak sufficient to refuel Navy vessels. This is important given the increasing naval activity in the Arctic and approaches to the Arctic.

The last two summers saw a joint Russian-PRC naval task force pass through the Aleutian Islands. These task forces are expected to continue every summer.

Additionally, the $790 million in military construction authorizations for Alaska include $250 million for the Joint Integrated Test and Training Facility at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson (JBER). There is also an authorization for $120 million for family housing at JBER, and $55 million for fuel facilities at the base, and $19.3 million for a combat rescue helicopter simulator.

The National Guard at JBER is set to receive $67 million for a readiness center, as well as $44 million for an ANG base supply complex.

Fort Wainwright is set to receive $198 million for unaccompanied enlisted personnel housing at the base and $23 million for an automated multipurpose machine gun range.

The senator said that the biggest threat to America’s national security and global stability is Communist China, which has been escalating threats against Taiwan and other countries in the Indo-Pacific, and that one of the best deterrents to China and other dictators is a well-funded and well-trained military.

“I worked hard to ensure this defense authorization reflects our allies’ concerns and feedback. That includes provisions to remove bureaucratic hurdles to the delivery of this military aid, authorize more lethal and advanced weapons systems, and dramatically escalate training opportunities with our Indo-Pacific partners.”

Within the NDAA, he also wrote numerous provisions to address the Navy’s shipbuilding crisis, which he says is a result of the Biden administration’s lack of focus on shipbuilding and warfighting and leaving the country vulnerable to the Chinese Navy in the Indo-Pacific.

“My shipbuilding amendments require the Navy to be more predictable with procurement profiles and increase the tenure of the admiral in charge of ship design and building.”

A few of his military, shipbuilding, and defense infrastructure provisions include the Expanding Naval Shipbuilding Infrastructure and Growing the Navy (ENSIGN) Act, which seeks to fix systemic issues with the Navy’s ship design process by mandating coordination between the officers and crew who will man the ships and those who design the ships at Naval Sea Systems Command (NSSC). To address delays, ships would be required to be designed to a mature level before issuing a contract is issued.

The ENSIGN Act also establishes a groundbreaking approach to ship design that requires modular designs to be part of the source selection criteria. This means that entire warships can be designed in a modular way, built in major sections throughout the country, and then transported to the coasts for assembly. There are major benefits to this, including taking advantage of untapped labor markets in the interior of the country as coastal communities are often tapped out near existing shipyards; and, if properly coordinated, speeding up delivery of new construction ships. These technologies are already being utilized with the Virginia-class submarines.

Make the Navy-provided senior medical officer of the Marine Corps a flag officer, giving the Marine Corps parity with other services. And in case of a conflict within the Indo-Pacific, ensure there are life-saving medical supplies stationed throughout the area to save service member lives.

A few of the Senator’s acquisition-related provisions include an update to the Defense Modernization Account, adopting the recommendations from the Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution Reform Commission. This will help critical, time-sensitive programs develop and procure modern equipment and technology faster.

Another is to allow DoD to mix and match the best autonomous system software and hardware to produce the most lethal and effective autonomous systems. The provision addresses the status quo that prevents the mixing and matching of the best hardware with the best software.

Finally, create a six-year pilot program to create new mechanisms, including consortia, to compete in fourteen critical and leading-edge technology areas. There is a need to include non-traditional firms, which are often elbowed out by requirements geared to the biggest defense contractors.

Lastly, addressing foreign policy-related provisions, Senator Sullivan highlights doubling U.S. military training investments for Taiwan, strengthening the island democracy’s own capacity to deter Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aggression.

He also would like to require the DoD to produce an unclassified report on corruption within the Chinese PLA to highlight a major vulnerability in the Chinese Communist Party leadership that can be widely publicized to the world and to the Chinese people.

He would like to require the DoD to work with the Secretary of State, the Taiwanese government, and American and Taiwanese industry leaders to identify specific defense capabilities that can be coproduced with Taiwan, addressing a current impasse in getting Taiwan what it needs to defend itself.

The FY 2025 NDAA must now be debated and voted on by the full Senate. A separate defense authorization will make its way through the House of Representatives. Once both the Senate and House pass their versions of the bill, they must then be reconciled in a bicameral conference committee, and then approved by each chamber before a final version is sent to the President to be signed into law.

“We are facing one of the most dangerous periods since World War II, with dictators on the march who are increasingly working together to undermine American interests around the globe,” said Senator Sullivan. “Considering the threat environment of four years ago, these dangers are clearly a consequence of the Biden administration’s weakness on the world stage, particularly President Biden’s consistent attempts to cut the budget for our national defense. A strong, bipartisan group of senators have once again come together to craft a $923 billion defense budget, which is $25 billion more than the President’s proposal. My provisions help cut through the Pentagon’s red tape to speed the delivery of weapons systems, and robustly invest in the training and equipment necessary to ensure our brave men and women in uniform are never sent into a fair fight.”

This marks the 64th consecutive year that SASC has come together on a bipartisan basis to advance a major defense authorization.

To view the entire list of provisions Senator Sullivan is calling for, please visit: www.sullivan.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sullivan-secures-790-million-in-military-projects-for-alaska-in-fy-2025-defense-authorization