WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) voted Thursday to approve the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013 (NDAA), the legislation authorizing Department of Defense operations for the coming fiscal year. The bill was approved by the House of Representatives last week and now heads to President Obama for his signature.
The final version of the NDAA includes several measures originally authored or proposed by Senator Coons as amendments, including a provision to protect and strengthen the Delaware National Guard’s cybersecurity team, an amendment by Senator Coons and Senator Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) to ensure that small businesses are not subject to conflicting guidance from federal agencies, and measures to promote trade with Africa and require the administration to present a strategy for stability, security, and good governance in Somalia.
“The Senate has come together to pass bipartisan legislation that takes positive steps to make our nation more secure and strengthen our relationships abroad,” Senator Coons said. “The NDAA authorizes funding for U.S. military and security operations that protect the safety of Americans and promote peace at home and abroad. The bill includes a provision that will ensure the Delaware National Guard’s 166th National Warfare Squadron and other cyber units of the Air National Guard can continue their critical mission to secure our nation’s cyber infrastructure. A rule clarification I sponsored with Senator Blunt will ensure small businesses do not receive conflicting guidance on federal contracts from the Department of Defense and Small Business Administration. Finally, two measures I have long supported will strengthen our ties to Africa – one by ensuring we have a thoughtful, comprehensive strategy to help Somalia develop the democratic institutions necessary for long-term stability, and the other by requiring an interagency strategy that strengthens our trade relationships with Africa. Each of these measures is good for our economy, national security, and partnerships with other nations and I am thankful to my colleagues for working with me to make them law.”
The New Castle-based 166th Network Warfare Squadron plays a key role in our nation’s offensive and defensive cyber capability, protecting America’s critical infrastructure systems against the threat of cyber-attacks. As part of the DoD strategy requirement in Section 933 of the House-Senate NDAA agreement, the language authored by Senator Coons would halt, and likely prevent, cuts to the Squadron, as well as cyber units across the Air National Guard.
The bill also includes a measure to clarify conflicting guidance for small businesses from the Small Business Administration (SBA) and Department of Defense. Occasionally, conflicting rules from each agency both apply to a small business contracting with the federal government. The provision by Senator Coons and Senator Blunt makes it easier for small businesses to comply with these rules by dictating that when both sets of rules apply to a small business contract, only the SBA rule will be enforced.
Senator Coons, chair of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, introduced the Somalia Stabilization Act in October to promote security, stability, and good governance in Somalia. The legislation requires a coordinated, interagency U.S. government strategy for consolidating recent security and political gains in the troubled country.
Lastly, the NDAA includes an amendment cosponsored by Senator Coons to boost trade with Africa. The measure will require a senior administration official to develop a strategy for improving coordination between U.S. government agencies with a role in trade and increasing U.S. exports to Sub-Saharan Africa.