Manatee Review

WASHINGTON — Congressman Vern Buchanan (FL-16) has announced that two of his proposals have been included in the final version of the FY24 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and are on their way to President Biden's desk to be signed into law. These proposals aim to address the well-being and safety of active-duty service members and their families, which is one of Congressman Buchanan's top priorities in Congress.

The first proposal, known as the Rachael Booth Act (H.R. 975), aims to fix a gap in current law that prevents some individuals who suffer domestic abuse at the hands of a service member from receiving financial assistance. This provision is named after Rachael Booth, a constituent from Lithia, FL, who was unable to access the financial assistance she should have been eligible for when her husband was convicted of domestic abuse in a civilian court and then discharged from the military on an unrelated offense. The Rachael Booth Act will help dependents of service members easily access Transitional Compensation to aid their transition to financial independence after the service member has been discharged for a domestic abuse offense.

The second proposal seeks to examine the benefits and feasibility of utilizing black box data recorders in tactical vehicles to prevent future accidents. This amendment, previously known as the DRIVE SAFE Act (H.R. 4399), was introduced by Congressman Buchanan following the tragic death of Army Specialist Panipinto in 2019 when the M2A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle he was driving overturned during a road test in South Korea. The investigation into Specialist Panipinto's death revealed numerous safety and training failures, including malfunctions of the vehicle's communication systems, defective or broken equipment, a lack of medical services on base, and significant delays in medical response. This provision aims to evaluate the potential of equipping tactical vehicles with black box data recorders to improve training procedures and emergency response capabilities.

Congressman Buchanan has been a leading advocate for military training reforms. In the FY22 NDAA, he included a series of sweeping reforms that required the Pentagon to implement more realistic training practices, develop stricter enforcement standards, and ensure better oversight to prevent future military training accidents and deaths. Additionally, in 2020, Buchanan successfully offered an amendment to the FY21 NDAA, which required the Department of Defense to examine emergency response capabilities and services at U.S. bases worldwide and report to Congress on the potential benefits and feasibility of improving medevac helicopters and military ambulances.

With these two proposals passing Congress and set to become law, Congressman Buchanan is pleased to see his efforts to prioritize the well-being and safety of service members and their families come to fruition.

For additional details, please follow this link: https://buchanan.house.gov/2023/12/two-buchanan-proposals-pass-congress-slated-to-become-law