Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is pessimistic over the chances of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) being passed this year. According to The Hill, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) wanted to bring the bill to the floor yesterday but the roadblock was the pledge Republican senators took not to back any additional legislation until the Senate passes a bill funding the government for 2011 and a deal on tax cuts. Reid may bring the bill to the floor today.
Levin told The Hill today:
Meanwhile, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the country's first and largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, urged the Senate to quickly pass the bill which, in addition to addressing "Dont Ask, Don't Tell," also expands mental health care resources, focuses on Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Military Sexual Trauma (MST), extends the stop loss deadline, improves the electronic sharing of health records between DoD and VA, and provides a 1.9% pay increase for all service members and extends several recruitment and retention bonuses set to expire.
On IAVA's site, executive director Paul Rieckhoff said:
