WASHINGTON, D.C. — Overtime for shipyard workers on assignment overseas will continue to be paid through Sept. 30, 2019, thanks to an extension secured by U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor.

Kilmer worked to secure the extension as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which was signed into law by President Trump.

“Our shipyard workers go all out for the country no matter where the job takes them,” Kilmer said in an announcement of the extension. “If they work overtime, they deserve to be paid overtime no matter where they’re clocked in. I have their back, and I’m glad the country does too.”

The NDAA also included a 2.4 percent raise for military service members, one of the largest raises in eight years. The raise was included in the annual defense bill, HR 2810, which authorizes funding for the military in fiscal year 2018.

The NDAA directs the Department of Defense on how to spend its money for the next fiscal year, but Congress still needs to pass an appropriations bill to fund these programs. Congress must pass that legislation before Dec. 22, when the government’s current spending bill is set to expire.

In addition to the pay raise and Kilmer’s overtime provision, the bill authorizes, among other things, investments in 13 new Navy ships, and $6 billion to in additional funds to be used for a missile defense program that is designed to counter North Korea, and to fix the destroyers USS Fitzgerald and USS John McCain, which were damaged earlier this year when they collided with ships in the Pacific in two separate incidents.