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Witnesses urge PTSD research grants, debate right-to-repair and labor riders during Rules hearing
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Summary
At the HR 3838 Rules Committee hearing, witnesses supported amendments to authorize a PTSD research grant with Israeli partners, discussed right-to-repair language for DOD equipment and raised objections to a provision limiting presidential staffing reforms.
Multiple witnesses testified during the Rules Committee hearing on HR 3838 about proposal-specific amendments that members may seek to include in the NDAA.
PTSD research grant: Edward Fine (testifying) asked the committee to support amendment 779, which would authorize the Department of Defense to establish a grant program to support joint research on post-traumatic stress disorder with Israeli academic and medical institutions. "The amendment does not appropriate any money for the grant. It lays the framework for the grant. Money would have to be requested by the DOD and appropriated in next year's defense appropriations," Fine said. He cited Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that about 29% of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom veterans have PTSD.
Right-to-repair: Representative Fishbach asked whether the bill's right-to-repair language applies only to the Department of Defense and whether proprietary information would be protected. Witnesses said the language was "still work in progress," limited to DoD, and that House and Senate versions differed; further negotiations were expected.
Labor and executive orders: Representative Onder testified in favor of amendment 1146 to preserve the Department of Defense's ability to implement Executive Order 14251 (as referenced in testimony) relating to staffing and limits on collective-bargaining impediments to agency operations. Onder said section 1110 of the NDAA as drafted would prevent the DOD from implementing the president's executive-order staffing policies and urged repeal of that section to protect operational flexibility.
These were testimonies and member exchanges; the Rules Committee accepted witnesses' written statements into the record and recessed without adopting changes. Any funding for a PTSD grant would require future appropriations by Congress.
