[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 122 (Thursday, July 2, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4178-S4179]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   National Defense Authorization Act

  Over the past few days, we have been working on this national defense 
authorization bill. It is one that we pass every year and have passed 
every year for 60 years.
  My colleagues have done good work on this bill so far. We took 
requests very seriously. We put hundreds of them in this bill. We 
actually did. Over 700 of the papers and amendments have been put in 
this bill. One of the reasons we wanted to do this is because--we 
didn't used to do it, but we actually did this time. A problem that 
existed last year didn't exist this year. There is resistance on the 
floor to getting amendments. That resistance has gone now, and I think 
we are going to be able to do it.
  This bill was written by the Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. 
Senate, and they did a very good job. When you stop to consider that we 
have as many--we actually have over 700 amendments that are now a part 
of this bill. This was made by the Members here, not by any other 
group. It is not the way it has always been done.
  We had a great markup. In fact, our markup ended up--I call it 
unanimous because it was passed by 25 to 2, and the 2 who voted against 
it are not big on the military anyway. I call it unanimous. That is 
unusual--unusual--to get a bill this size to pass unanimously out of a 
committee to the Senate floor.
  This is going to happen today. I feel very good about the progress we 
are making. When we come back from this Fourth of July recess, we are 
going to be able to finish it, and it should be in good shape.
  In a few moments, I will be asking for unanimous consent on adoption 
of the managers' package and to make six amendments in order. By my 
estimation, this is the first time in at least the last few years that 
we have really considered and voted on this many individual amendments 
on the floor.
  I have to say something about Senator Reed. Sure, we differ on some 
things, but it has always been that we have reached agreement on 
virtually every issue. I was glad we had agreement on amendments. We 
were pushing hard to have even many more amendments. We wanted to 
consider as many as possible. We wanted every Member to have a say in 
this bill, and that is exactly what happened. I am glad we were able to 
reach a bipartisan path forward to complete consideration of this bill 
right after the recess, and that is exactly what we are going to do.
  I have gone over a lot of the reasons this bill is so important over 
the past week, so I will keep it simple. Here is why we need to pass 
this bill:
  First of all, it gives our troops a needed and deserved raise. It is 
out there.
  It authorizes more than 30 kinds of special pay for our troops at 
various levels of hazard--things that haven't been done before.
  It makes sure our military families--this is the big thing. I have a 
very close friend in here who was talking about the fact that--on the 
floor--the main problem we are facing in our Nation as a threat is 
China and Russia. He made the comment and observation that, yet, we 
spend more on the military than the two of them put together. That is 
true, but I did want to remind him--and I did on the floor yesterday--
that there is a reason for that. The reason for that is the most 
expensive thing we have in the military that we deal with every year 
are people. We take care of people.
  I remember last year that one of the main thrusts of our bill was to 
get all of those housing things that were privatized 10 years before 
and that hadn't been performing very well--to take care of our troops 
and their families. We spent time doing that. You take a Communist 
country like China or Russia--they don't care about the troops. They 
give them a gun and say: Go out and kill people. No wonder we have to 
spend more. That is the reason we are going to continue to do that, and 
this bill does that.
  There are countries out there that hate everything America stands for 
and want to do us harm. We know that is right. I sometimes get tickled 
when I hear people talking about, well, we don't want to do this 
because that is going to upset them. We don't want to keep Gitmo open 
because that might upset the terrorists. Well, welcome to the real 
world.
  So this gives our troops the equipment, the training, and the 
resources they need to defend this Nation.
  I never want to put ourselves in the position where we have a fair 
fight in America. We don't want fair fights. We want to go into combat 
with a clear advantage over our adversaries, and this bill does that.
  It makes sure that the Pentagon is situated to support our troops 
wherever they are, but it also protects taxpayer dollars and ensures 
accountability to the taxpayers. That is very important, and this bill 
does that.
  This bill also does a lot of good things we all support. That is why 
we are passing the bill today. It is a no-brainer. It is not a matter 
of if we are going to pass it; it is a matter of when. It is now down 
to the hours. It will be set up so that when we come back from the 
recess, we will be able to pass this bill.
  Keep in mind, we pass it, and that is not the end because the House 
has to pass their bills, and, of course, then the President will sign 
the bill. We go into conference with the House and the Senate, and 
before the President signs the bill, we have to have not just a 
conference, but very likely it will go to the Big Four. If it does 
that, that is another process. Very likely, it could be November when 
we actually end up passing this bill. Our absolute deadline has always 
been December 31. We will be well in advance of that.
  I know the President has strong feelings about one of the provisions 
of the bill. He says if that is in there, he will veto the bill. We all 
know what that is. It is controversial. It is the Warren amendment that 
was put in. I have to say this: All but one Republican oppose that. I 
have to say that so people will hear it and understand it because that 
is true.
  Anyway, passing the bill is not a matter of if; it is going to pass. 
This is a very good bill. It is a must-pass bill. One of the things 
that happen with a must-pass bill is that everyone who can't get their 
bills on other interest areas passed--they know this bill is going to 
pass, so they try to put in amendments. We have taken a lot of the 
amendments that have nothing to do with defense, but nonetheless we 
know it is necessary. It has been necessary for 60 years. This is 
nothing new.
  I would remind our colleagues that we have a long way to go yet. We 
will make sure that the conference report is a bipartisan one when we 
get to that point so that both parties can support it. It is exactly 
what we have right now. I have to say, with Senator Reed--we very 
carefully weighed our portions of the bill, as well as amendments, to 
make sure we were fair to both sides--both the Republicans and 
Democrats--and that is the product we have in front of us.
  From the brave patriots who fought for our Nation nearly 250 years 
ago to the 2.1 million who serve today, this bill is by them and for 
them.
  This weekend, as you celebrate Independence Day, think about what 
this holiday stands for. Think about what it takes to protect the 
freedoms we celebrate.
  There is no doubt in my mind that this bill will give our troops what 
they need. The bill will make American families safer and will enable 
us to stand up for our democratic values around the world. We will be 
passing this bill and will be very proud of it.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. TOOMEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.

[[Page S4179]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Boozman). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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