[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 78 (Thursday, May 22, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E816-E817]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




HOWARD P. ``BUCK'' McKEON NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL 
                               YEAR 2015

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. ALAN GRAYSON

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 21, 2014

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4435) to 
     authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2015 for military 
     activities of the Department of Defense and for military 
     construction, to prescribe military personnel strengths for 
     such fiscal year, and for other purposes:

  Mr. GRAYSON. Madam Chair, I rise to thank Chairman McKeon and Ranking 
Member Smith for agreeing to include three of my amendments into this 
en bloc package. Those amendments are numbered ``43'', ``81'', and 
``140'', respectively.
  Grayson Amendment No. 43 will reinsert a worthwhile provision from 
the introduced version of H.R. 4435, requested by the Department of 
Defense, that was omitted from the bill text marked up in committee.
  This amendment provides the authority and discretion necessary to 
return personal property that is retained as evidence in connection 
with an investigation into a sexual assault involving a member of the 
Armed Forces.
  After the conclusion of all legal, adverse action, and administrative 
proceedings related to an incident, should a victim desire to have 
certain personal belongings returned to him or her, our Armed Forces 
will now have the ability to fulfill that request.
  As we all know, one of the primary goals of the American judicial 
system is to produce outcomes that will ``make the victim whole.'' 
Sometimes, Madam Chair, one important thing that we can offer a victim 
is to return items that he or she may cherish, which may have

[[Page E817]]

been confiscated as evidence during the course of an investigation.
  Let me be clear--this amendment is not intended to provide any new 
privileges to any perpetrator of a sexual assault. I am offering this 
amendment today to provide victims an opportunity to reclaim those 
items that are important to them.
  It was good policy when this bill was introduced, and it is good 
policy now.
  Grayson Amendment No. 81 will prohibit the Department of Defense from 
contracting with entities convicted of using ``Made in America'' labels 
fraudulently.
  The current law governing this issue can be found at 10 U.S.C. 2410f. 
It states very clearly that if a person is convicted of intentionally 
affixing a label bearing a ``Made in America'' inscription, then the 
Secretary of Defense has the discretion not to debar that person from 
contracting with the Department of Defense.
  Madam Chair, if we are going to put laws on the books to address an 
issue, they should mean something. We, the Members of this body, should 
make our intent clear. If someone purposely misrepresents an item as 
being ``Made in America'', and he is convicted of that crime--he does 
not get the benefit of securing contracts with our Armed Forces.
  My amendment accomplishes that goal. It requires debarment of the 
entities outlined above, while at the same time allowing the Secretary 
of Defense a narrow national security exception, which should be used 
only in the most extreme circumstances.
  This amendment makes good sense. It protects American businesses, and 
appropriately punishes those who have the audacity to claim that a 
product has been ``Made in America'' when it has not.
  I'd be remiss at this time, if I did not thank my good friend, 
Representative Carol Shea-Porter from the great state of New Hampshire. 
She has been discussing the idea of this amendment with me at least 
since February, and she was integral in its drafting and securing the 
support of her colleagues on the House Armed Services Committee. For 
that I am grateful--thank you again, Representative Shea-Porter for all 
of your hard work in support of this amendment.
  Finally, Madam Chair, Grayson Amendment No. 140 will extend the 
current United States Space Protection Strategy by an additional five-
year period--until 2030.
  In the 2008 NDAA, Congress required that a greater priority be put on 
the protection of national security space systems. It directed the 
Secretary of Defense, in conjunction with the Director of National 
Intelligence, to develop a strategy for the development of capabilities 
that are necessary to ensure freedom of action in space for the United 
States.
  The strategy, which is outlined in the notes to 10 U.S.C. 2271, is 
required to cover fiscal years 2008 through 2013; 2014 through 2019; 
and 2020 through 2025. My amendment, recognizing that the first five-
year covered period has lapsed, simply requires an additional five-year 
period--2026 through 2030.
  I am proud that this amendment will still be in force when my nine-
year-old sons have grown into adults. This amendment will protect not 
just the United States' position in space, but also their physical 
well-being.
  Madam Chair, again, I thank Chairman McKeon and Ranking Member Smith 
for agreeing to include all three of these amendments in this en bloc 
package. I believe these amendments make America not only a safer 
place, but a better place.

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