[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 99 (Thursday, June 13, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3462-S3463]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   National Defense Authorization Act

  Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, last week, we commemorated the 75th 
anniversary of D-Day, and in just a few weeks, we will celebrate 
America's independence on the Fourth of July.
  It is important for us to pause and remember the contributions made 
by the men and women who wear the uniform of the U.S. military who 
fight every day to protect our freedoms.
  The Senate Armed Services Committee just completed its markup of the 
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 and voted 
overwhelmingly to send this legislation to the Senate floor. This is an 
annual event for us in the Senate. We pass the Defense authorization 
bill to ensure that crucial Department of Defense programs are 
continued, that America's servicemembers are paid, and that our 
national defense is modernized to keep pace with the rapidly evolving 
threat landscape.
  One of my top priorities in the Senate has been to ensure that 
America's military men and women have what

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they need to keep our Nation safe from threats both at home and abroad, 
and this bill, the national defense authorization bill, fulfills part 
of our commitment to do just that.
  There are more than 200,000 military men and women stationed in Texas 
at places like Fort Hood, Fort Bliss, Lackland Air Force Base, Naval 
Air Station Corpus Christi, and Ellington Field. We in Congress have a 
duty to provide these men and women with the training, the tools, and 
the resources they need to achieve the most difficult missions they 
face today and embark on those that will inevitably arise tomorrow.
  I have no doubt that these talented servicemembers could have chosen 
any career--certainly one that involved fewer sacrifices and more time 
spent at home with their families--but, instead, they have chosen to 
serve their country. That decision should never stand in the way of 
their ability to exercise one of the most fundamental rights we have as 
American citizens, and that is the right to vote.
  In 2016, only 46 percent of Active-Duty military voted by absentee 
ballot--46 percent. What concerns me is the fact that one-third of 
those who did not vote said that the absentee voting process was too 
complicated. We have to change that, so I have introduced a bipartisan 
bill called the Military Voter Protection Act that simplifies the 
absentee voter registration process for servicemembers stationed 
abroad. It would ensure that within 30 days of arriving in theater 
during a deployment, servicemembers are provided with a briefing on 
absentee voting registration and an opportunity to fill out the 
registration form or application.
  Currently, 28 States allow the Federal write-in absentee ballot to 
serve as both the registration form and the actual ballot itself. My 
bill encourages the remaining States to follow suit, reducing the 
amount of paperwork military members have to fill out in order to 
exercise their right to vote.
  This is an important step to simplify that process for our men and 
women in uniform and ensure that arduous and cumbersome paperwork does 
not deter them or dissuade them from casting their ballot. I have been 
working with the chairman and the ranking member on the Armed Services 
Committee to ensure that this provision will be included in the Defense 
authorization bill for fiscal year 2020 to make it easier for our 
servicemembers to make sure their voices are heard at the ballot box.
  As we prepare to consider the Defense authorization bill here in the 
Senate, I want to thank the men and women who serve our country and 
assure them that we will continue to do everything we can to support 
them and ensure they are empowered and mission-ready and, yes, that 
they can also cast their ballot.