Norcross’ workforce protections, investments in defense manufacturing pass House Armed Services Committee

WASHINGTON — Congressman Donald Norcross (NJ-01), ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee’s (HASC) Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee and Member of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, today voted to advance the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). “America's self-defense is wholly reliant on the servicemembers and civilian workforce who dedicate their lives to keeping our country safe. At a time when seemingly everything else in Washington is broken, I’m proud of our committee’s bipartisan commitment to serving those irreplaceable workers and men and women in uniform,” Norcross said. “From essential workplace rights protections to investments in the critical manufacturing happening right in South Jersey, the provisions in this bill will make a meaningful difference in the security of our country and the rest of the world.” The Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) NDAA improves military readiness and strengthens American industry by cutting red tape, fixing outdated systems, and supporting defense innovation. The FY27 NDAA also includes a 3.6% pay raise for all servicemembers and boosts access to housing and education for themselves and their families. Norcross also authored a successful amendment to protect Department of Defense employees by restoring collective bargaining rights that President Trump illegally stripped in an executive order last year. His remarks to the committee in support of his amendment can be found here . Other FY27 NDAA priorities secured by Norcross include: Over $591 million for seven additional CH-47 helicopters, which will be manufactured by South Jersey workers in nearby Ridley Park across the Delaware River; Over $3.8 million for four additional MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopters that South Jersey workers will help build in Philadelphia; Over $3.47 billion for the KC-46 refueler aircraft, which flies out of Joint Base McGuire-Dix Lakehurst; $5 million to Rowan University for the development of hypersonic technologies; Required a DoD study on the state of the skilled trade workforce essential to Navy shipbuilding to strengthen the training and workforce pipeline and increase our Maritime Industrial Base shipbuilding capacity; Preserved critical airborne warning and control capabilities by protecting an $800 million investment in the E-7 Wedgetail program from cancellation; Ensured shipbuilding jobs are kept in the U.S. by blocking the Navy from outsourcing warship construction to foreign countries. ###