WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman Eugene Vindman (Va.-07), member of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, today voted with a bipartisan majority of the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
The legislation included three Vindman-led provisions to strengthen support for military families, improve the educational environment in Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools, and protecting the Department of Defense (DoD) civilian workforce from arbitrary firings.
“As a 25-year Army veteran, I know that passing a strong, bipartisan defense bill is one of the most important things Congress does each year,” said Vindman. “This NDAA reflects months of work to strengthen our national security and support the people who make that mission possible. I’m glad to see three provisions I championed included — one that bolsters quality education by making DoDEA classrooms phone-free, another that guarantees children of reservists can attend DoDEA schools when their parent is serving their country, and one that protects Virginia’s federal workers. These are practical steps that give military families more stability and help their kids succeed.”
Specifically, the Vindman-led provisions in the bipartisan defense bill would:
- Require all DoDEA schools to adopt phone-free classroom policies. These schools, which serve the children of U.S. military personnel stationed across the globe, would become leaders in restoring in-class focus and reducing screen time during school hours.
- Guarantee that children of reservists can access DoDEA schools while their parent is serving their country. Vindman pushed for this change after hearing directly from an affected constituent about the challenges they faced.
- Protecting federal workers from DOGE by standing up for the DoD civilian workforce by strengthening protections against arbitrary firings. With 55,000 federal workers in Virginia’s Seventh District, Vindman will always fight our federal workers.
Vindman was one of 17 Democrats to vote to pass the bipartisan NDAA when it first came to the House floor in September. He believes the national security of our country should remain a bipartisan issue and will continue to put our military families and service members over politics.
BACKGROUND
Congressman Vindman is a U.S. Army veteran. He served as an infantry officer and paratrooper including assignments in the 82D Airborne Division and as a company commander leading troops. Soon after, he transitioned to the U.S. Army Judge Advocate Generals (JAG) Corps. As a JAG, Vindman served as an international law advisor in Iraq; as the senior prosecutor in the busiest jurisdiction in the Army; and as a White House National Security Council (NSC) deputy legal advisor. In Congress, he sits on the House Armed Services Committee.
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