[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 118 (Thursday, July 13, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E984-E986]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 12, 2017

  The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union 
had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2810) to authorize 
appropriations for fiscal year 2018 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. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Chair, I want to thank Chairman Thornberry and 
Ranking Member Smith for shepherding this legislation to the floor and 
for their devotion to the men and women of the Armed Forces who risk 
their lives to keep our nation safe.
  Mr. Chair, thank you for the opportunity to explain the Jackson Lee 
Amendment to H.R. 2810, the National Defense Authorization Act for 
FY2018, which authorizes $2.5 million in increased funding to combat 
and treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
  Had it been made in order, this Jackson Lee amendment would have 
provided additional funding to be used toward outreach activities 
targeting hard to reach veterans; especially those who are homeless or 
reside in underserved urban and rural areas.
  Mr. Chair, along with traumatic brain injury, Post-Traumatic Stress 
Disorder (PTSD is the signature wound suffered by the brave men and 
women who fought or are fighting in Afghanistan, Iraq, and far off 
lands to defend the values and freedom we hold dear.
  For those of us whose daily existence is not lived in harm's way, it 
is difficult to imagine the horrific images seen by American servicemen 
and women deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other theaters of war.
  In an instant a suicide bomber, an IED, or an insurgent can 
obliterate your best friend and right in front of your face.
  Yet, you are trained and expected to continue on with the mission, 
and you do, even though you may not even have reached your 20th 
birthday.
   But there always comes a reckoning.
  And it usually comes after the stress and trauma of battle is over 
and you are alone with your thoughts and memories.
  And the horror of those desperate and dangerous encounters with the 
enemy and your own mortality come flooding back.
  PTSD was first brought to public attention in relation to war 
veterans, but it can result from a variety of traumatic incidents, such 
as torture, being kidnapped or held captive, bombings, or natural 
disasters such as floods or earthquakes.
  People with PTSD may startle easily, become emotionally numb 
(especially in relation to people with whom they used to be close), 
lose interest in things they used to enjoy, have trouble feeling 
affectionate, be irritable, become more aggressive, or even become 
violent.
  They avoid situations that remind them of the original incident, and 
anniversaries of the incident are often very difficult.
   Most people with PTSD repeatedly relive the trauma, called 
flashbacks, in their thoughts during the day and in nightmares when 
they sleep.
  A person having a flashback may lose touch with reality and believe 
that the traumatic incident is happening all over again.
  Mr. Chair, the fact of the matter is that most veterans with PTSD 
also have other psychiatric disorders, which are a consequence of PTSD.
  These veterans have co-occurring disorders, which include depression, 
alcohol and/or drug abuse problems, panic, and/or other anxiety 
disorders.
  The Jackson Lee Amendment recognizes that these soldiers are first 
and foremost, human and that they carry their experiences with them.
  Ask a veteran of Vietnam, Iraq, or Afghanistan about the frequency of 
nightmares they experience, and one will realize that serving in the 
Armed Forces leaves a lasting impression, whether good or bad.
  The Jackson Lee Amendment would have helped ensure that ``no soldier 
is left behind'' by addressing the urgent need for more outreach toward 
hard to reach veterans suffering from PTSD, especially those who are 
homeless or reside in underserved urban and rural areas of our country.
  Mr. Chair, I also want to speak in support of the amendment to H.R. 
2810, the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2018, offered by 
Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Conyers, and supported by 
Congresswoman Barbara Lee of California, Congressman Walter Jones of 
North Carolina, myself, and many other colleagues but not made in order 
by the Rules Committee.
  The Conyers Amendment is simple and straightforward, stating:
  ``Nothing in this Act shall be construed as authorizing the use of 
force against North Korea.''
  Interviewed by Reuters in the Oval Office on Apri1 27, 2017, the 
President stated:

[[Page E985]]

  ``There is a chance that we could end up having a major, major 
conflict with North Korea. Absolutely.''
  According to media reports, military strikes against North Korea 
remain an option for the President and his national security team.
  Earlier this year, the Trump Administration sent an aircraft carrier 
and a nuclear-powered submarine to the region in a show of force.
  Of course, direct U.S. military action runs the risk of massive North 
Korean retaliation and huge casualties in Japan and South Korea and 
among U.S. forces in both countries.
  The Conyers Amendment would make clear and explicit that nothing in 
the FY2018 NDAA can be construed as congressional authorization or 
acquiescence regarding the use of military force against North Korea.
  The Framers understood that while the military does the fighting, the 
entire nation goes to war.
  That is why the Framers lodged the power to declare war in the 
Congress, the branch of government closest to the people.
  They knew that the decision to go to war was too important to be left 
to the whim of a single person, no matter how wise or well-informed he 
or she might be.
  The President must consult with Congress and to obtain an AUMF before 
undertaking any military offensive against North Korea.
  Over the last 16 years, we have seen 3 Presidents use the 2001 
Afghanistan AUMF as a blank check to engage in serious military action.
  In 2016, the Congressional Research Service issued a report detailing 
37 unclassified uses of this authorization in 14 countries, including 
for operations at Guantanamo Bay, warrantless wiretapping, and recent 
military action in Libya, Syria, Somalia, and Yemen.
  The overly broad 2001 AUMF represents a critical deterioration of 
Congressional oversight, which should be repealed, rather than repeated 
with respect to North Korea.
  As our brave service members are deployed around the world in combat 
zones, Congress is missing in action.
  As provided under the War Powers Resolution of 1973, absent a 
Congressional declaration of war or authorization for the use of 
military force, the President as Commander-in-Chief has constitutional 
power to engage the U.S. armed forces in hostilities only in the case 
of a national emergency created by an attack upon the United States, 
its territories or possessions, or its armed forces.
  As a co-equal branch of government, it is Congress's right and 
responsibility to be fully consulted regarding any potential plans to 
conduct military operations in North Korea, to assess whether such 
action is in the national security interest of the United States and 
its allies, and to withhold or grant authorization for the use of 
military force based on this assessment.
  As we have learned from the painful and bitter experience of the past 
16 years, at the initiation of hostilities, the costs in terms of blood 
and treasure of U.S. military interventions abroad are often 
underestimated and the benefits overstated.
  For example, more than 6,800 American service members gave the last 
full measure of devotion to their country on battlefields in 
Afghanistan and Iraq, with hundreds of thousands more returning with 
physical, emotional, or psychological wounds that may never heal.
  The direct economic cost of the war in Afghanistan exceeds $1.07 
trillion, including $773 billion in Overseas Contingency Operations 
funds, an increase of $243 billion to the Department of Defense base 
budget, and an increase of $54.2 billion to the Veterans Administration 
budget to address the human costs of the military involvement in 
Afghanistan.
  We should not repeat the mistakes of the past and my position on this 
issue is directly aligned with the will of the American people.
  I commend my colleague, Congressman Conyers for offering this 
important amendment and am disappointed that it was not made in order.
  I am confident that depriving Members of the opportunity to debate 
and vote on the Conyers Amendment will strengthen our resolve to 
restore Congress's preeminent constitutional role in the decision to 
take the nation to war.
  If it had been made in order and approved, Jackson Lee Amendment No. 
179 would have directed the Secretary of Defense to conduct, and report 
to Congress within 180 days, the results of a study regarding whether 
the requirement to notify a Voting Action Officer within 10 days of 
registering to vote in a state where a service member resides, due to a 
duty reassignment, imposes a significant burden on military voters.
  Members on both sides of the aisle want our men and women in the 
armed services to be able to vote.
  Unfortunately, they often cannot, despite the option of casting an 
absentee ballot if they are deployed overseas.
  For most of U.S. history, military personnel have been barred from 
voting by State laws and constitutions that specifically restricted 
military personnel from voting.
  Following the Civil War, many of these laws began to change because 
so many citizens served in the military.
  Today, there is a Federal Voting Assistance Program that assists 
military voters and their families living in the United States and 
abroad to vote in public elections.
  Work has been done and is continuing to be done to make the absentee 
voting experience for military voters as easy as possible, but there 
are still issues with receiving a ballot and being able to return it by 
the deadline.
  The military population is extremely mobile.
  Since voting materials are postal materials that cannot be forwarded, 
it is important for them to provide their election office their current 
address annually, as well as after every move, because information 
provided is the only way of election agencies can contact them.
  Military personnel are often relocated because of reassignments, 
which are outside of their control.
  The process for voting is difficult for persons serving in the 
military and adding a requirement that military voters who decide to 
register where they may have been reassigned may need more than 10 days 
to meet the requirement of notice to their Voting Action Officer.
  This Jackson Lee Amendment directs the Department of Defense to study 
and report to Congress the impact the 10 day requirement and whether it 
imposes an undue burden on military voters who seek to cast their 
ballots in person.
  Military voters should have the option of casting an in-person 
ballot, while they serve our nation at a station or on assignment in 
the United States.
  This Jackson Lee Amendment would have ensured that our men and women 
of the armed services have equal access to the ballot and the 
opportunity to cast a vote, without fear of violating a 10 day 
deadline.
  I am disappointed that this Jackson Lee Amendment was not made in 
order, but I will continue working with my colleagues to find ways to 
ensure our armed services men and women have equal and just access to 
voice their opinion by casting a voting ballot.
  Mr. Chair, thank you for the opportunity to explain the Jackson Lee 
Amendment to H.R. 2810, the National Defense Authorization Act for 
FY2018, which would have required the Secretary of Defense to report to 
Congress on programs and procedures employed to ensure students 
studying abroad through Department of Defense National Security 
Education Programs are trained to recognize, resist, and report against 
recruitment efforts by agents of foreign governments.
  This training would have been helpful for students such as Glenn 
Shriver, an outstanding college student-majoring in international 
relations at a college in Michigan and interested in seeing the world.
  Seeking new experiences, Glenn traveled to China during the 2002-2003 
academic year to Study Abroad in one of Shanghai's universities and 
practice his Mandarin.
  During his study abroad program in China, Glenn developed an interest 
in Chinese culture and considerably improved his fluency in Mandarin, 
so after graduating from college in 2004, he returned to the China to 
continue his language studies and to look for work.
  After seeing potential in Glenn, a Chinese official going by the name 
of Amanda approached him and asked him to write papers and paid him 
$120.
  In the following months, Glenn took some $70,000 from the woman and 
her associates, and eventually sought a U.S. government job with the 
aim of accessing classified information with the purpose of providing 
it to Chinese officials until his scheme was uncovered and he was 
arrested by the FBI in 2010.
  To a recent college graduate, $70,000 seems like a lot of money if 
they are graduating with high student loan debt, and the promise of 
even more can be too tempting to pass up.
  There are other means and methods for foreign agents to attempt to 
course, trick or in some other way deceive a college student into 
becoming a tool of that government.
  The Jackson Lee Amendment would have laid the foundation for 
protected students attending domestic institutions of higher education 
by providing them with the training necessary to recognize, resist, and 
report recruitment efforts by agents of foreign governments when they 
occur in the United States.
  Congress should not assume that foreign governments seeking to 
recruit students attending institutions of higher learning will limit 
their efforts to students studying abroad.
  Had it been made in order and adopted, the Jackson Lee Amendment 
simply would require the Secretary of Defense to report to Congress on 
whether U.S. students attending institutions in the United States would 
benefit from similar or some aspects of the training described in the 
bill.

[[Page E986]]

  We have seen and learned so much regarding Russia's efforts to 
influence our nation's elections in large part by leveraging 
relationships between Russian agents and key individuals in President 
Trump's Campaign.
  Although the work to investigate what took place continues, we should 
take steps today to make sure that young people attending institutions 
of higher learning are equipped with the knowledge and training needed 
to resist influence of a foreign government.
  Although I am disappointed this important amendment was not made to 
order, I will continue to work with my colleagues to find ways to train 
our young people studying abroad on ways to detect, resist, and report 
attempts to recruit them by hostile foreign nations and actors.
  Had it been made in order and approved, Jackson Lee Amendment No. 182 
would direct the Secretary of Defense to develop plans for early 
detection, mitigation, and defense against state sponsored cyberattacks 
targeting federal public election assets, election administrators, 
election workers, or voter engagement efforts.
  The aim of this amendment is to ensure that elections, and the 
peaceful transfer of power, which are pillars of our democracy, remain 
secure and are not undermined by external factors.
  Last year, during one of the most contentious elections we have seen, 
a foreign state commenced a series of spearphishing attacks with the 
goal of penetrating the networks of a variety of Republican and 
Democratic Party organizations.
  This foreign adversary was Russia, whose intelligence agencies worked 
under the directive of Vladimir Putin with the goal of making Donald 
Trump the 45th President of the United States.
  Russian interference may have begun as early as 2015, and lasted 
through the winter of 2016. While at first, the hacking may have been 
done with the aim of foreign intelligence collection, by July 2016, 
Russian intelligence weaponized their information and worked to damage 
Hillary Clinton's campaign.
  While the exact extent of Russia's influence on our elections may 
never be known, the fact is that Russia successfully intervened in our 
democracy and American intelligence agencies have determined that they 
have the capability and motivation to do so once more.
  The Jackson Lee amendment would have helped to ensure that this never 
happens again.
  Neither Russia, nor any other country, will ever have a say in our 
democratic processes.
  The Jackson Lee Amendment would protect our election administrators, 
our election workers, and our voter engagement efforts.
  I am disappointed that this amendment was not made in order, but I 
will continue to work with my colleagues to ensure that the United 
States has the proper technology, capability, and methods to defend our 
elections against malicious foreign state-sponsored cyberattacks.