WASHINGTON — Today, Congressman Vern Buchanan (FL-16) announced that two of his proposals were included in the final version of the FY24 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which is now on the way to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.
“These two proposals will address the well-being and safety of our active-duty service members and their families, one of my top priorities in Congress,” said Congressman Buchanan. “I’m extremely pleased to see these provisions pass Congress this week and look forward to them being signed into law.”
The two Buchanan provisions include:
- The Rachael Booth Act (H.R. 975), which 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 much-needed financial assistance.
- An amendment to examine the benefits and feasibility of utilizing black box data recorders in tactical vehicles to prevent future accidents.
Buchanan’s first provision, the Rachael Booth Act, was named after his constituent from Lithia, FL. She found herself 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.
This soon-to-be new law will help dependents of service members more easily access Transitional Compensation to help them transition to financial independence after the service member has been discharged from the military for a domestic abuse offense.
Buchanan’s second provision aims to evaluate if equipping tactical vehicles with black box data recorders could prevent future accidents, previously introduced as the DRIVE SAFE Act (H.R. 4399). Buchanan has been a leading advocate in Congress for reforming current training procedures and improving emergency response capabilities in Congress after his constituent, Army Specialist Panipinto, died when the M2A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle he was driving overturned during a road test in 2019 in South Korea.
Numerous safety and training failures contributed to SPC Panipinto’s death, 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 to the scene of the accident.
Buchanan had a series of sweeping military training reforms included in the FY22 NDAA 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.
In 2020, Buchanan also offered an amendment to the FY21 NDAA that was successfully signed into law. His amendment required the DoD to examine emergency response capabilities and services currently available at U.S. bases around the world, and to report to Congress on the potential benefits and feasibility of requiring bases to have properly functioning MedEvac helicopters and fully stocked military ambulances.
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