NTU urges all Senators to vote "YES" on the following amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act: #230, #328. NTU urges all Senators to vote "NO" on #862, #931.
Amendment #230, offered by Sen. Young (IN) would mandate a completion of an audit of the Pentagon by 2027. This will help give taxpayers visibility into one of the biggest drivers of federal spending in the budget.
Amendment #328, offered by Senator Warren (MA), would repeal unfunded reporting requirements. NTU has supported the House and Senate versions of this amendment as well as standalone legislation. This amendment would eliminate a wasteful and unnecessary practice that undermines fiscal discipline and congressional oversight by allowing the Department to circumvent the budget process and lobby for additional funding for programs that are not justified or prioritized by its own strategic planning.
Roll call votes on the above amendments will be included in NTU’s annual Rating of Congress and a “YES” vote will be considered the pro-taxpayer position.
NTU opposes the following amendments, "NO" will be considered the pro-taxpayer position.
Amendment #862, offered by Sens. Marshall (KS), Durbin (IL), Welch (VT), would force credit cards within the United States to offer additional unaffiliated payment options and several other anti-free market mandates. This non-germane amendment should be considered on its own merits rather that attached to a must-pass piece of legislation. Furthermore, NTU has long opposed the imposition of government mandates and de-facto price controls. As NTU warned in the past on debit card mandates, the lively rewards market there has shrunk to near nonexistence. These government mandates will further threaten the robust rewards programs that consumers have come to greatly appreciate.
Amendment #931, offered by Sen. Cornyn (TX), would modify outward foreign investment standards. While Cornyn’s proposed amendment to improve the outward foreign investment review framework is well-intentioned, it will do little to improve the overly broad and restrictive proposal and its negative effect on the regulatory environment in the United States.
Although there are legitimate concerns about critical U.S. technical abilities flowing to adversarial nations, existing statutes— notably the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR) and the Export Administration Regulations (EAR)—already provide the necessary legal framework for regulating U.S. export of critical technologies and software. Instead of recalibrating such regulations, the overly restrictive and vague investment review framework risks threatening both inward and outward foreign investment.
Roll call votes on the above amendments will be included in NTU’s annual Rating of Congress and a “NO vote will be considered the pro-taxpayer position.
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If you have any questions, please contact NTU Senior Policy and Government Affairs Manager Nick Johns at Njohns@ntu.org