[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 120 (Monday, July 17, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1002]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2018

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                               speech of

                          HON. EARL BLUMENAUER

                               of oregon

                    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:

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Chair, I will vote against H.R. 2810, the 
National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2018 (Roll 
no. 378). I commend the House Armed Services Committee for tackling 
some difficult issues, but I remain concerned about several components 
of the bill, including its lack of fiscal discipline and use of budget 
gimmicks.
  There are provisions of this legislation that I support. I am pleased 
this bill includes a provision expressing the sense of Congress that 
climate change is a direct threat to the national security of the 
United States. The bill would also support a 2.4 percent military pay 
raise and would require the Pentagon to report to Congress any attempts 
by Russian actors to hack the Defense Department's system.
  However, by authorizing a total of $621.5 billion in base budget 
authority, exceeding the $549 billion cap set in the 2011 Budget 
Control Act, and using $10 billion in Overseas Contingency Operations 
(OCO) funding for base defense requirements, Congress and the 
administration are misusing budget mechanisms to pad their accounts in 
an era of fiscal uncertainty. The bill puts off making tough decisions 
about our defense spending.
  The legislation also keeps intact funding for several unnecessary 
weapons programs and undermines key international nuclear 
nonproliferation efforts. The bill authorizes full funding for the Air 
Force's next generation air-launched cruise missile, known as the Long-
Range Standoff weapon (LRSO), even though Secretary of Defense Mattis 
has stated numerous times that he is skeptical we actually need it. I 
offered an amendment to keep funding for the LRSO at FY17 levels until 
the administration submits a Nuclear Posture Review to Congress, but it 
was unfortunately not accepted.
  The bill also requires the Department of Defense to develop a missile 
system that, if tested or deployed, would violate U.S. obligations 
under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. I offered an 
amendment to prohibit this system's development until military experts, 
diplomats and our NATO allies certify that they agree with this 
approach, but this amendment too was rejected.
  Additionally, the legislation caps funding for nuclear weapon 
dismantlement at $56 million for FY19 through FY21, making us less 
safe.
  Beyond nuclear weapons and treaties, the legislation maintains a 
prohibition on transferring detainees in Guantanamo Bay detention 
facility to the United States and bars the construction or modification 
of facilities within the U.S. to house detainees for another year. It's 
past time that we closed this military prison. We can safely and 
securely imprison anyone we need to without the extraordinary expense 
of this recruiting tool for ISIS.
  The bill also prohibits a new round of base realignment and closure 
(BRAC), rejecting the Department of Defense's request for flexibility 
to implement BRAC for the sixth year in a row.
  The best way to support our troops is to fight for common-sense 
budgeting and spending these sums out properly.

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