[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 108 (Thursday, July 25, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1138-E1139]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2014

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 23, 2013

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2397) making 
     appropriations for the Department of Defense for the fiscal 
     year ending September 30, 2014, and for other purposes:

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Chair, I rise to speak in favor of adoption of 
the Defense Appropriations Act of 2014.
  I thank Chairman C.W. Bill Young and Ranking Member Pete Visclosky, 
Ranking Member of the House Committee on Appropriations' Subcommittee 
on Defense for their work to provide for our nation's national defense.
  I also want to extend thanks and appreciation to the men and women in 
and out of uniform to defend our nation. You serve your nation with 
honor and distinction. In each generation our nation must remember that 
the freedoms that we enjoy come at a price, which you have paid without 
hesitation or complaint.
  Each year the Congress takes on the tasks of providing appropriations 
for the nation's defense. The Appropriations subcommittee that focuses 
exclusively on the work of the Department of Defense is the subject 
matter experts who manage the long process that resulted in the bill 
before us for consideration. As members of the House of Representatives 
we are each subject matter experts on the committees that we serve, but 
we are also experts on the constituencies we seek to represent.
  My work in the 18th Congressional District has allowed me the 
privilege of working with men and women in the military, the workers in 
aeronautics and space industries that contribute to our nation's 
defense as well as those in the Department of Defense who work in and 
around our nation's capitol.
  Through my work as a member of Congress I know those who have served 
and returned home to a tough economy, struggles with physical 
disabilities and life changing injuries associated with their service 
to our nation. I do not know the military as a mass of statistics, but 
individuals with names and faces--real people who depend on each of us 
to pursue their best interest.
  I know you know that none of our offices received calls from lobbyist 
on behalf of the men and women who serve in defense of our nation in 
and out of uniform. That is why we must rely upon our own experience 
and that of the Appropriations' Subcommittee on Defense to reach the 
best result in a very long and arduous legislative process.
  Military families make sacrifices with long separations of parents 
from spouses and children that last for over a year. Many miss some of 
the important moments in their children's lives when they are deployed 
when they have young children. The Defense Appropriations bill includes 
$580 million for a military pay raise consistent with the raise 
included in the House Armed Services bill for a 1.8 percent increase.
  I am pleased to say that this Defense Appropriations bill does a 
great deal more for the men and women serving in the military and 
places more focus on the needs of their families. This bill maintains 
the objective of previous Congresses to assure that our nation's 
military is the best trained, best prepared, best equipped, and best 
cared for fighting force in the history of the world. That is the least 
we can do for those who willingly risk their lives to keep us safe.
  The bill also recognizes that the military is changing due to the 
expanded roles for women who pursue careers in the armed services. I 
strongly believe that this choice should not mean a diminution of 
rights or opportunities from what they would enjoy these women had 
pursued a different career path.
  For this reason, I sought and the Appropriations Subcommittee on 
Defense provided $150 million for a Peer-Reviewed Breast Cancer 
Research Program. The program fills a unique niche among private and 
public funding sources for cancer research and presents an

[[Page E1139]]

opportunity to forging new ideas and scientific breakthroughs in the 
nation's fight against breast cancer.
  My work to expand the Department of Defense ability to provide 
assistance and support for medical research related to breast cancer 
included Jackson Lee Amendment #1 which provided $500,000 in increased 
funding for breast cancer research, which was adopted by the Full 
House. This additional funding raised the amount in the bill to $130 
million and will be made available for Triple Negative Breast Cancer 
research. Triple Negative Breast Cancer is one of the most deadly forms 
of the disease that is extremely difficult to detect, and has an 
extremely high mortality rate.
  The threat of sexual assault of both women and men serving in the 
armed services is a real threat to unit cohesion and professional 
conduct among the ranks. The troubling aspects of the stories we have 
heard is the lack of comprehension of the traumatic nature of this 
crime among superior officers in a position to help. The Defense 
Department Appropriations bill offers an additional $25 million for a 
new Sexual Assault Special Victims Program in addition to fully funding 
request of $156.5 million for a Defense-Wide and the Military Service 
Program which I strongly support.
  I sought and the Appropriations Committee provided $80 million in 
funding for a Prostate cancer program to be included in the final bill 
at 100 percent of the requested amount. The most prevalent type cancer 
in men, and second most diagnosed cancer in the nation, kills over 
thirty thousand people per year.
  Veterans, especially those exposed to defoliants have been identified 
as being more prone to this disease. Research on prostate cancer will 
lead to better early diagnostic tools as well as better treatments and 
improvements to quality of life for prostate cancer survivors.
  The unique nature of combat can produce illnesses that threaten 
health and life expectancy. This is why I requested $25 million and the 
Committee provided $20 million or 80 percent of my request to fund a 
Gulf War Illness Research Program, GWIRP. The bill provides $20 million 
in funding to support the identification of treatments and diagnostic 
markers for Gulf War Illness, a chronic multi-symptom illness with no 
effective treatment affecting 250,000 Gulf War veterans. Treatments 
will benefit military personnel at risk of similar neurotoxic 
exposures. The FY14 program funded by this bill will fund studies of 
promising treatments and larger clinical trials of treatments 
previously shown to be effective.
  Jackson Lee Amendment #2 that was adopted by the full House under 
debate of the bill offered additional funds from $10 million provided 
by a transfer to an account that could be used to support work to 
assist military persons suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorders, 
PTSD. As we look to PTSD, some of a soldier's wounds are invisible to 
the naked eye, for these are wounds that should be properly treated. 
One of the best ways to increase access to treatment is to increase the 
number of medical facilities and mental health professionals who are 
available to serve the needs of men and women currently serving and 
those who have become veterans.
  Post traumatic stress disorder, one of the most prevalent and 
devastating psychological wounds suffered by the brave men and women 
fighting in far off lands to defend the values and freedom we hold 
dear. A suicide bomber, an IED, or an insurgent can obliterate their 
close friend instantaneously and right in front of their face.
  Yet, as American soldiers, they are trained to suppress the agonizing 
grief associated with those horrible experiences and are expected to 
continue on with the mission. And carry on they do, with courage and 
with patriotism.
  The bill also provides $125 million in funding to for Traumatic Brain 
Injury (TBI), and Psychological Health research, and $4 million for 
alcohol and substance abuse research. In addition, $20 million is 
provided for suicide prevention and outreach.
  My focus is also the military of the future and the overwhelming need 
for people who have strong science, technology, engineering and 
mathematics, STEM, educations to fill the positions required for the 
successful defense of our nation's cyber networks.
  I sought $30 million for Historically Black Colleges and Universities 
and Minority-Serving Institutions, HBCU/MI. The Funding requested was 
approved by the Appropriations committee at the level at over $35 
million or a 116 percent over the amount I requested. The funds 
appropriated will reinvigorate the relationship between the Department 
of Defense and the HBCU/MIs and to ensure that minorities are 
represented in the long-term development of the STEM workforce 
pipeline. The funding will support undergraduate and graduate STEM 
programs to increase the participation and success of minority students 
through engaged mentoring, enriching research experiences, and 
opportunities to publish, present, and network. Consistent with the 
report of the National Academy of Sciences ``Expanding Underrepresented 
Minority Participation: America's Science and Technology Talent at the 
Crossroads,'' the funding is intended to enhance the Department's 
efforts to emphasize STEM education improvement within the Historically 
Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Institutions program. The 
Committee should encourage the Secretary of Defense to consider these 
factors when awarding competitive funding under this program, as well 
as ensuring that selected programs have a sufficiently large cohort of 
students to allow for effective peer-to-peer mentoring.
  I offered language to create a report that the Secretary of Defense 
must present to Congress on the topic of hazing in the military, 
harassment and mistreatment of service members across the Armed Forces. 
The Committee directs the Secretary of Defense to provide a report to 
the congressional defense committees not later than 180 days after 
enactment of this act on the prevalence and consequences of hazing, 
harassment and mistreatment of service members and the policies in 
place to address cultural sensitivity and hazing and harassment 
prevention and intervention. Further, the report shall include 
recommendations for the services to accurately record and prevent 
incidences of hazing, harassment and mistreatment of service members 
and to adopt a more intentional diversity and inclusion effort. 
Finally, the report shall propose a plan to implement and monitor these 
recommendations.
  On balance this Department of Defense Appropriations bill overall is 
a good thing for the men and women of the armed services especially 
with the additional of an amendment to prohibit the use of funds to 
deny Department of Defense civilian employees security clearance 
because of financial difficulties caused by ``furloughs'' due to 
sequestration.
  I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

                          ____________________