Six Soto Amendments Pass in Annual House Defense Bill
Press Release
Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 7900, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, which includes six amendments introduced by Congressman Darren Soto (FL-09). H.R. 7900 authorizes FY2023 appropriations for military activities and programs of the Department of Defense (e.g., personnel; research, development, test, and evaluation; and procurement of items such as aircraft, missiles, and ammunition). It also prescribes military personnel strengths for FY2023. This much-needed piece of legislation promotes transparency, invests in military infrastructure, and supports our service members.
"I am incredibly proud to support this year's NDAA to assist our service members and invest in our military's infrastructure," said Congressman Soto. "The passage of my amendments will promote space operations in Central Florida, develop emerging technologies, and help the military oppose discrimination. It is also an honor to be part of the bipartisan effort to foster a national strategy for the research and development of distributed ledger technologies and their applications. Today and every day, I will stand for a strong national defense that honors our values, protects our citizens, and strengthens our leadership in the world."
The following amendments introduced by Rep. Soto were included in the bill text:
#1 Demographic Data Inclusion Amendment -- Requires the Secretary of Defense to include demographic data on race, ethnicity, and gender identity in their report related to medical personnel in each military department. This would provide a record of the growing diversity within military medical personnel and enhance the military's ability to oppose discrimination.
#2 Expanding Locations for Space National Guard Amendment (Soto/Posey) -- Adds areas with "significant space launch or mission control facilities" to be included as locations where Space National Guard are established.
#3 Supporting Expansion of Commercial Space Activity Amendment (Soto/Posey) -- Adds language to the Sense of Congress on the Range of the Future and Support to Commercial Space Launch Activity that states that it is critical to the Nation's national security and economic vitality that we continue to encourage and enable the expansion of commercial space launch activity.
#4 Distributed Ledger Technology Added to Software and Cybersecurity Curricula Amendment (Soto/Schweikert/Budd) -- Inserts distributed ledger technology into the curricula on software acquisitions and cybersecurity or hardware acquisitions for covered individuals. This will add distributed ledger technology to those technologies considered to increase digital literacy related to software acquisitions and cybersecurity hardware or software and develop the ability of covered individuals to use technologies to critically evaluate, and synthesize data and information related to such acquisitions.
#5 Distributed Ledger Technology Added for Prototype and Demonstration for Energy Resilience Project Amendment (Soto/Schweikert/Budd) -- Adds distributed ledger technology to the definition of covered technologies considered for prototype and demonstration energy resilience projects at certain military bases.
#6 Artificial Intelligence Added to Military Education Curricula Amendment -- Adds artificial intelligence as a specific "new technology" considered in the development of the consortium for curricula being developed for institutions of military education in order to improve military education.
Additionally, H.R. 8065, the National R&D Strategy for Distributed Ledger Technology Act of 2022, which Rep. Soto co-led with Reps. Michael Waltz (R-FL-06), Byron Donalds (R-FL-19), and Eric Swalwell (D-CA-15), was included in the base text of H.R. 7900. H.R. 8065 authorizes the development of a national strategy for the research and development of distributed ledger technologies and their applications, creates awards to support research on distributed ledger technologies and their applications, and supports an applied research project on distributed ledger technologies in commerce.
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