BELLEVUE- Funding for new Offutt Air Force Base facilities and better pay for young service members are two components included in the local contributions to the national defense bill that passed the U.S. House this month and is headed to the Senate. Republican U.S. Senator Deb Fischer and Representative Don Bacon said recently that the latest version of the National Defense Authorization Act includes specific projects that the state should be satisfied with. Along with renovations for the base, much of the bill's focal point was improving the quality of life for service members and their families.

Bacon was a particularly vocal advocate for improving the lives of the military and their families, mainly through a salary increase. Fischer's motivation was much more rooted in her support for deterring foreign powers from using nuclear weapons. “A dangerous world demands a strong investment in our military, and that’s what our defense bill delivers, both for Nebraska and the country as a whole,” Fischer said.

Critics of the bill have noted that it unnecessarily addressed social issues by limiting education on diversity and inclusion for military training, while others voiced appreciation for the bill's protection of conservative media on bases. Both Fischer and Bacon prioritized cyber defense and funding defense research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, a portion of which is tied to StratCom. There has been an increasing concern over cybersecurity, and the bill addresses the need for professionals in that space.

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