[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 117 (Thursday, June 25, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S3278]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, on a completely different matter, the 
Senate does not have the luxury of letting these disagreements prevent 
needed bipartisan progress on other fronts.
  While the House has been missing in action on the longest spring 
break in human history, the Senate has been conducting the people's 
business alone. We have confirmed nominees. We have conducted critical 
oversight. We passed historic legislation for our national parks and 
public lands. We have kept a close watch on the bad actors abroad who 
would love nothing more than to take advantage of a distracted and 
divided United States.
  Today, months of focused work from our colleagues on the Armed 
Services Committee will let the Senate start to move toward this year's 
National Defense Authorization Act. Thanks to Chairman Inhofe and the 
committee, for a 60th straight year, the Senate has an opportunity to 
lay out our priorities for the U.S. military with a united voice. 
Chairman Inhofe and Ranking Member Reed guided a collaborative, 
bipartisan process.
  The committee considered 391 amendments and reported out their final 
bill on a nearly unanimous basis. The result is legislation that honors 
the unique sacrifices of our men and women in uniform, from authorizing 
a pay raise for Active-Duty personnel to ensuring high-quality housing, 
health, and childcare services for families stationed at home and 
abroad.
  Their product will help ensure our military continues to attract the 
next generation of warfighters and leaders and that those men and women 
will have cutting-edge equipment and tools to face off with competitors 
and defend our security and our interests around the world.
  In just the last several weeks, China has grown even bolder in its 
supposed ``enforcement'' of disputed waters and picked deadly fights 
with the world's largest democracy in the Himalayas. Russia has 
deployed aircraft to within eyesight of U.S. airspace and has kept 
testing the free world's tolerance for cyber attacks. North Korea has 
threatened a new round of the Korean war. Iran continues to flout 
international agreements and fuel instability throughout its region. 
Terrorists prey on the instability to advance their own extreme 
violence.
  Clearly, those who mean us harm will not wait for America's domestic 
challenges to fade away, and they certainly will not wait for the 
United States to quit bickering. So, notwithstanding all our other 
differences, I hope and expect this body will be able to put 
partisanship aside and honor the bipartisan tradition that has defined 
this crucial bill for decades.

                          ____________________