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SALT LAKE CITY — Sen. Mitt Romney detailed several amendments he was able to include in the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act. The bill passed the Senate Arms Committee last month but is still waiting on a vote by the full Senate. The legislation includes funding for critical military operations, provides guidance on recruitment, and addresses U.S. military involvement in foreign conflicts.
Romney said the U.S. faces growing threats across the world, and Congress needs to provide the military with the resources necessary to keep the nation safe.
"This year's Senate (National Defense Authorization Act) includes several provisions which I fought for to protect against these growing threats by modernizing our nuclear triad, shoring up U.S. military supply chains in the Indo-Pacific, and preventing terrorist groups from getting their hands on drones to conduct attacks or collect intelligence," Romney said in a press release.
In June, the House passed its version of the bill. The Senate version will be debated and voted on in the coming weeks.
What measures did Mitt Romney contribute to the 2025 defense bill?
Romney's contribution to the legislation includes support for the Sentinel program, Hill Air Force Base, military recruitment, security cooperation with allies, drone security and military supply chains.
Here are the amendments he made that were adopted.
Sentinel program: This program replaced the Minuteman III program and is intended to improve and modernize the ground-based portion of the nuclear triad. Romney's requests include:
- That the Department of Defense maintain a supply of at least 400 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles.
- Strengthening the special task force within the Sentinel program to oversee military construction and installation.
- Determining whether reusing parts of the Minuteman III system would save money.
Hill Air Force Base: With staffing and technological issues impacting performance, Romney asked the Government Accountability Office to study these issues at the Ogden Air Logistics Center. The office would then form and deliver recommendations to address these problems.
Military recruitment: After falling about 41,000 short in recruitment numbers in 2023, Romney requested in Section 595 that the military have access to information about college dropouts and that high schools put on a required number of in-person military recruiting events.
Security cooperation with allies: Due to the threat of foreign conflict in various regions, Romney sought to make information sharing with our allies more efficient and requested an assessment of the Department of Defense's efforts in reducing barriers to information sharing.
Military supply chains in the Indo-Pacific region: In anticipation of potential conflict in the Indo-Pacific, supply chain hurdles may pose a logistic threat to military efficiency, Romney said. To combat this, he asked for two things:
- The addition of Japan and South Korea as allies that could assist with product support in a backed-up supply chain.
- That the Department of Defense evaluate and prepare a report on the military supply chain in the region for Congress.
Drone security and foreign terrorism: Romney stressed the evolution of aerial technology and its lethal uses. He sought to prevent drone technology from being acquired by foreign terrorists for use in surveillance, attacks and delivery missions.
