[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 114 (Friday, August 2, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1244-E1245]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2014, H.R. 2397

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, August 2, 2013

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, although the legislation before us today 
is far from perfect, I rise in support of its passage. The Fiscal Year 
2014 Defense Appropriations Act (H.R. 2397) will ensure that our brave 
men and women in uniform have the resources they need to keep our 
country safe and secure. The bill also provides funding to support the 
U.S. industrial base. Lastly, H.R. 2397 includes important provisions 
to assist our troops and their families, including a pay-raise of 1.8 
percent, and strengthens the health care services available to all our 
service members.
  As a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, I 
have worked diligently this past year to ensure funding for members of 
the U.S. Military, preserve our military readiness, and target wasteful 
Pentagon programs. While I am in favor of the underlying legislation, I 
am deeply disappointed that nearly all of the mandated across-the-board 
cuts were shifted to other parts of our Federal budget, leaving the 
Pentagon relatively unscathed. In fact, the bill provides more funding 
than originally requested in the President's budget proposal, which 
further demonstrates the House Republicans' misplaced budget 
priorities.
  Mr. Speaker, I am serious about confronting the fiscal crisis facing 
America. Being an Appropriator, I take seriously my job of eliminating 
unnecessary spending and ineffective programs in every appropriations 
bill within every federal agency--including the Pentagon. This year's 
process was unlike past budgeting years. The House Appropriations 
Committee operated under the unreasonable constraints of the funding 
allocations imposed by House Republicans, which needlessly starve the 
discretionary budget. These allocations force Congress to make reckless 
trade-offs between adequately funding the Pentagon and providing 
sufficient funding for the rest of our Federal government. This is not 
only economically harmful, but also an irresponsible way to operate as 
a legislative body.
  The exponential growth of the Pentagon Budget since 2001 is due 
primarily to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now that the Iraq War 
has ended and as we withdraw our combat troops from Afghanistan next 
year, it is time to significantly reduce the size of the Pentagon 
budget in a responsible way. During consideration of this bill, I voted 
in favor of numerous common-sense amendments aimed at saving the 
government hundreds of billions of dollars. With my support, the House 
passed two separate amendments that reduced the Afghanistan Security 
and Afghanistan Infrastructure funds by nearly a half a billion 
dollars. In addition, I voted in favor of an amendment offered by 
Congressman Van Hollen, which reduces the Pentagon's war funding 
account by $3.5 billion over the next year.
  We also debated and voted on important amendments related to national 
security and civil liberties. The most notable of these being measures 
to curb the National Security Agency's (NSA) blanket collection of 
Americans' telephone records. Since the Patriot Act originally passed 
under former President George W. Bush, Congress has regularly 
reauthorized it without subjecting the NSA and other government 
agencies to proper oversight. This enabled the NSA to abuse two of its 
provisions, Sections 702 and 215, by using them to justify unwarranted 
surveillance of law-abiding U.S. citizens both domestically and abroad. 
This is simply unacceptable. Congress has an obligation to conduct 
strong oversight of our national security policies and when necessary, 
take corrective action through the legislative process
  That is why I welcomed the floor debate and supported the ``Amash-
Conyers'' amendment, which aimed to restrict the NSA's ability to 
collect bulk telecommunications records pursuant to Section 215 of the 
Patriot Act. Furthermore, it would have imposed stricter, more robust 
judicial oversight of the Federal government's surveillance programs. 
Even though the amendment narrowly failed by a vote of 205-217, its 
strong bipartisan support sends a clear message to the White House that 
Congress is ready and willing to implement much needed reforms. It is 
absolutely essential that

[[Page E1245]]

we preserve Americans' privacy and civil liberties in our efforts to 
keep America safe from terrorist attacks.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill in its totality provides adequate funding for 
all our military personnel and their families. Moreover, it includes 
several necessary reforms to help eliminate the scourge of sexual 
assault in the military. I was proud to work with my colleagues on the 
Subcommittee to fully fund the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response 
programs at $157 million and add an additional $25 million above the 
request to implement a Sexual Assault Special Victims Program. The bill 
also reaffirms numerous provisions that were included in the FY 2014 
National Defense Authorization Act, including those increasing 
penalties for sexual assault, requiring trial by court-martial for such 
offenses, and limiting convening authority discretion regarding court-
martial findings and sentencing.
  Congress has a duty to take care of our men and women in uniform and 
as a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, I urge 
my colleagues to support the underlying legislation.

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