Malliotakis Applauds Passage of USA-Greece Military Partnership Legislation

(WASHINGTON, DC) - Yesterday, H.R. 4129, legislation introduced by Congressman Bilirakis (R-FL) and Deutch (D-FL) and cosponsored by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) that strengthens the defense partnership between the United States and Greece, was included in the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The NDAA passed the House with a 363 to 70 vote last night and has been sent to the Senate for final passage.

“I'm proud to join Representatives Deutch and Bilirakis in supporting legislation that strengthens the USA-Greece military partnership, supports the modernization of Greece's military along with a multilateral security cooperation between Cyprus, Greece, Israel, and the United States,” said Congresswoman Malliotakis. “This legislation is critical to ensuring stability in the Eastern Mediterranean and I'm pleased to see it pass the House in a bipartisan fashion."

More specifically, this legislation:

• Provides assistance to Greece to meet its defense needs and help the country move away from Russian-produced military equipment.
• Provides assistance for Greece to train future leaders, foster a better understanding of the United States, establish rapport between the U.S. Armed Forces and Greece's military, enhance interoperability, focus on professional military education and protect human rights.
• Provides direct loans to Greece for the procurement of defense articles, defense services, and design and construction services to further develop its military program.
• Expedites delivery of any future F–35 aircraft to Greece once Greece is prepared to move forward with such purchase under terms set by the President of the United States.

In addition to this legislation, Malliotakis' language requiring the Biden Administration to submit a detailed report to Congress of any Iran-backed kidnapping operation committed on U.S. soil was also included in the final version of the NDAA.