[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 118 (Monday, July 15, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H5778]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               SUPPORT FOR OUR SERVICEMEMBERS IN THE NDAA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Cisneros) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CISNEROS. Mr. Speaker, last week, we passed a National Defense 
Authorization Act for fiscal year 2020. Working with my colleagues for 
over 20 hours on the House Armed Services Committee to mark up this 
bill in the late hours of the night and the early hours of the next day 
was all worth it.
  Mr. Speaker, with the passage of this year's NDAA, we have fulfilled 
our duties to ensure our military's readiness, strengthened our 
national security, and eased our servicemembers' transition to civilian 
life.
  I am proud to have helped secure 17 floor amendments for the NDAA, 
with more than half of those offered on a bipartisan basis. These 
provisions supported programs that are critical to servicemembers 
living in the 39th Congressional District.
  A major priority of mine is ensuring that our servicemembers have the 
support they need when they transition back to civilian life. I was 
proud to colead the bipartisan Work for Warriors provision with my 
colleagues, Representatives Paul Cook, Elissa Slotkin, and Mark Takano.
  The Work for Warriors model has a proven track record of helping our 
veterans find jobs, providing job placement assistance to unemployed 
Guardsmen, Reservists, military spouses, and veterans to not only help 
them provide for their families, but also facilitate their successful 
transition back to civilian life.
  Another priority of mine was to improve the quality of healthcare for 
servicemembers, especially mental health programs and women's 
healthcare services. I am proud to have secured a number of provisions 
that take care of military families by expanding military housing and 
improving access to healthcare services.
  Specifically, I was proud to work with Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan 
to expand transition assistance for women servicemembers. This will 
ensure our servicewomen are better equipped with the healthcare 
resources they need as they leave military service.
  Also, I am hopeful that the amendment my colleagues and I included to 
address sexual assault at all levels of our military will help our 
servicemembers and veterans receive the respect and justice they 
deserve. The high rate of sexual assault in the military is 
unacceptable and needs to be addressed immediately.
  Even though DOD spends millions on sexual assault prevention 
programs, the number of assaults has jumped dramatically since 2010. We 
owe it to our servicemembers and veterans to determine why the current 
programs have been failing, and we need to create a new, effective 
approach to this problem.
  Because, in exchange for their service, our Nation took on the 
responsibility to care for each servicemember's health, both physical 
and mental, that is why I prioritized provisions to address the suicide 
epidemic currently facing our servicemembers and veterans. We are 
losing servicemembers and veterans to addiction and suicide at alarming 
rates. It is unacceptable that this epidemic is only getting worse.
  I worked with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to secure 
language that will help prevent servicemembers from reaching at-risk 
status and ensure that at-risk servicemembers are identified and able 
to receive the care they deserve.
  Also, I am proud to have supported an amendment with Congresswoman 
Jackie Speier to protect our transgender servicemembers. As a Navy 
veteran, I was saddened by our government's willingness to discriminate 
against individuals who had the courage, spirit, and commitment to 
serve our country in uniform.
  Anyone who has the bravery to serve our country should be allowed to 
do so, and I stand firmly against the administration's ban on 
transgender servicemembers. I will continue to fight against this 
hateful and bigoted policy until the President and his administration 
understand that transgender servicemembers have the right to their 
dignity, and they have the right to serve.
  Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the NDAA 
reaffirms our constitutional authority over the use of military force. 
With this provision, Congress reasserts our congressional authority and 
its duty to our country and our servicemembers, and it makes clear to 
the President that there is no current authorization to use military 
force against Iran. We understand how Iran destabilizes the region, and 
it is our responsibility in Congress to ensure that the U.S. does not 
enter into a conflict without a strategy.
  In closing, while I have said much on what this House has 
accomplished with this bill, I would like to end with this: I thank our 
servicemembers, civilian military personnel, and all the national 
security professionals who support our Armed Services in my district, 
in our country, and around the world. It is an honor to represent them 
in Congress to ensure the promises made here are kept for our 
servicemembers and our veterans.

                          ____________________