[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 84 (Thursday, May 26, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E799]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





        NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2017

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 17, 2016

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4909) to 
     authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2017 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:

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the National Defense 
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (H.R. 4909)
  Each year, the National Defense Authorization Act provides a 
framework for our armed forces in the fiscal year ahead. Crafting and 
considering this legislation is a serious matter, one that has earned 
strong bipartisan support in the past. This year, House Republicans 
have instead decided to intentionally violate last year's Bipartisan 
Budget Act and abdicate this Congress' solemn responsibility to 
sufficiently fund our troops.
  H.R. 4909 takes $18 billion from Overseas Contingency Operations 
(OCO), the account that pays for our country's fight against ISIS and 
other important military efforts, in order to fund base budget items 
that the President and the Department of Defense have not requested. 
This funding shift breaks the spirit of the Bipartisan Budget Act 
reached last October and degrades our military's readiness. 
Furthermore, H.R. 4909 stops authorization for OCO funding next April, 
long before the fiscal year ends, and places our servicemen and -women 
squarely in the middle of a partisan budget fight just months into the 
next president's term. This is reckless and irresponsible, and Congress 
owes it to our troops to authorize a full year of funding.
  H.R. 4909 also includes several disturbing Republican ideological 
stances that I find highly objectionable. This legislation fails to 
uphold President Obama's protections for LGBT Americans who work for 
federal contractors and grantees and allows for discrimination against 
them. This outrageous partisan rider has absolutely no place in a bill 
that authorizes the funds necessary for our servicemen and -women to do 
the jobs they have bravely volunteered to do. Additionally, H.R. 4909 
once again includes provisions that prevent President Obama from 
responsibly closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay, ensuring that the 
detention center will remain an extremist propaganda tool and a threat 
to our national security. Now that President Obama has put forward a 
plan to close the detention center responsibly, Congress should move 
immediately to enact it. The closure of this facility is long overdue.
  House Republicans owe it to our servicemen and -women to put forward 
legislation free from partisan ideological riders and adequately funds 
them for a full fiscal year. Unfortunately, H.R. 4909 falls far short 
of this.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing the National 
Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (H.R. 4909).

                          ____________________