Magaziner Votes to Increase Military Pay, Support Submarine Program at Quonset

Washington, D.C. — Today, Representative Seth Magaziner (RI-02) voted to pass H.R.2670, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24). The legislation – which includes support for the submarine program at Quonset, pay raises for Service Members, and language authored by Magaziner to expand affordable housing around shipbuilding hubs – will now head to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.

“We owe a solemn duty to American Service Members who risk their lives to keep our country safe,” said Representative Seth Magaziner. “With conflicts on the rise across the world, we need to make sure that those who serve our country in uniform have the equipment they need and the compensation they deserve.”

In July, Magaziner secured the inclusion of an amendment in the House-passed NDAA to ensure the Navy is fully utilizing a federal incentive to expand housing, transportation, and other support services to defense industry workers in Rhode Island and across the country. The final version of the bill, which was negotiated between the House and Senate and sent to the President’s desk to be signed into law, includes the language. 

“It is also important that the final version of the NDAA removed a dangerous provision introduced by House Republicans that would have denied women who serve in the Armed Forces access to abortion,” Magaziner stated. “Women who serve deserve access to health care, and the Defense Bill is no place for Republicans to try to push through extreme culture war provisions.”

The FY24 NDAA also includes language to expand the Navy’s submarine program at Quonset Point and the Port of Davisville in North Kingstown. At this location, thousands of Rhode Islanders are employed building Virginia and Columbia Class submarines for the United States, as well as our allies Australia and the United Kingdom.