July 11, 2023

REP. CORREA AUTHORS AMENDMENTS FOR NDAA TO SUPPORT BORDER SECURITY, VETERANS, WOMEN, AND IMMIGRANTS

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Representative Lou Correa (CA-46) announced that he submitted the six amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), for Fiscal Year 2024. 

This legislation will strengthen U.S. national security by supporting the development of new technologies, coordination with America's global network of allies and partners, and expand benefits for service members, veterans and their families. Correa’s amendments seek to ensure that while Congress invests in the national security of the United States, it does not leave behind veterans, women, or immigrant families, and ensures Congress continues to invest in safe, efficient, and moral border security measures.

“Investing in our national defense means investing in our technology and our people. This is an opportunity to stand up for our women veterans, veterans who have been deported after their service, and those returning home with wounds,” said Rep. Correa. “From medical care to immigration assistance to investigating therapies, this year's NDAA has the opportunity to invest in our nation where it matters most—our people.”

The amendments Rep. Correa submitted to the House Rules Committee for floor consideration are: 

Correa #1: Border technology

    • Requires the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to submit to Congress a plan to identify, integrate, and deploy all new and advanced technologies available to enhance, or address capability gaps, in border security operations to bolster U.S. national security.

Correa #2: Improving Oversight of Women Veterans' Care Act

    • Requires the VA to submit an annual report on women veterans' access to gender specific services to ensure that veteran women’s needs are being properly addressed.

Correa #3: Veterans’ therapies 

    • Expresses the sense of Congress to investigate all potential therapies to help our veterans, including psychedelics, to heal their visible and invisible wounds when returning home.

Correa #4: Report on deported veterans

    • Mandates that DOD, DHS, and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) work together to conduct and submit a report to Congress on the number of honorably discharged veterans who have been deported since 1945.

Correa #5: Deported veterans

    • Expresses the sense of Congress that all Americans have a duty to veterans who sacrificed their lives in service of our country, and that Congress and the Executive branch should exhaust all possible efforts to bring back our deported veterans.

Correa #6: Military parole in place

    • Amends the Military Parole in Place (PiP) program that is available to undocumented service members, veterans and their families that grants temporary permission to be in the U.S. while they pursue permanent legal status to include veterans who have been honorably discharged.

The House Rules Committee will decide which amendments are selected for consideration on the House floor. You can find the full text of each of Rep. Correa’s amendments HERE.

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