Congressional Record, Volume 166 Issue 224 (Friday, January 1, 2021)

[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 224 (Friday, January 1, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8000-S8001]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

LEGISLATIVE SESSION

______

WILLIAM M. (MAC) THORNBERRY NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR
FISCAL YEAR 2021--VETO--Resumed

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will
resume consideration of the veto message on H.R. 6395, which the clerk
will report.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

Veto message, a bill (H.R. 6395) to authorize
appropriations for fiscal year 2021 for military activities
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and
for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to
prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year,
and for other purposes.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma
Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, these are the last few words that Senator
Reed and I will say before the vote, and I want to mention something
that I haven't talked about as much as I probably should have.
First of all, the cooperation and working with Senator Reed and his
staff--this is a long enduring thing. It is hard for people to believe,
but we are actually starting on next year's bill now. We have already
started.
I thought I would mention something that hasn't been talked about as
much as it should have been talked about since we have suffered
arguably the worst cyber attack in American history. This is the most
significant piece of cyber legislation in American history. It contains
27 of our Cyberspace Solarium Commission recommendations. All 27 are in
this NDAA, to include provisions that are directly relevant to the
SolarWinds attack that would have allowed us to get ahead of this--most
notably by allowing decisive cyber security measures in DHS to begin
hunting for threats on dot-gov networks.
We have other recommendations to enhance our cyber resilience for our
nuclear command and control systems in this NDAA. Establishing a
national cyber director is in the NDAA, strengthening the size and
elevating his leadership, giving him more resources. I fear that the
SolarWinds attack is a harbinger of things to come. I am very proud of
the work our Commission has done, and the provisions are absolutely
critical.
The final thing I would say is that this is arguably the most serious
piece of legislation when it comes to deterring China that we have had
in decades, if not ever, including provisions such as the Pacific
Deterrence Initiative. This is kind of a followup to last year's
European Deterrence Initiative, where we are concentrating more on
Russia, but this is specific to China.
That is what the whole division of this bill is about--to enhance our
presence and our deterrence posture in the INDOPACOM provisions for
protecting against Chinese industrial espionage, more transparency for
Chinese military companies, reporting on Chinese United Front Work
Department in the United States and abroad, and the list goes on and
on. It is a very serious piece of legislation when it comes to
deterring China. That is one of the things we are concerned about.
China is our No. 1 threat and will be for perhaps, regrettably, decades
to come. So this bill brings us along to where we should be.
Once again, I want to say thanks for the effort that has gone into
this bill, the weekends, the hard work. Liz Cheney and John Bonsell, I
have to say, along with Jack Reed--they probably worked more weekends
than they have not worked weekends. So it has been a real effort.
It is the most important and significant piece of legislation that we
will pass, and this next vote is a very critical vote.
I will yield to Senator Reed for any comments he would like to make
about this. Keep in mind that this is a real--people talk about how the
Democrats and Republicans don't do things together. This has been an
example of what can happen in government.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island
Mr. REED. Mr. President, let me first begin by commending the
chairman for his extraordinary efforts. He led this process, let there
be no mistake about it. He rose to the challenges. This is the most
challenging NDAA for so many different reasons--because of the
pandemic, the need for social distancing in terms of hearings, the
whole scope of challenges that have arisen in the past few months--and
the chairman has done a remarkable job.
Let me start by saying that this is essential for our national
security. This bill is not optional. If we want to continue to maintain
our security for the United States, we have to pass this legislation.
It is that simple.
What does it do? Well, it does things that we have to do every year.
One, it provides for the support of our service men and women. I know
we are all celebrating New Year's Day here. It is kind of disconcerting
to be working when everyone else is partying, but if you feel a little
bit put upon, think about the soldiers in forward operating bases in
Afghanistan who are facing danger. Think about the ballistic
submariners protecting the United States. Think about the airmen who
flew the B-52 bombers. Think about them and their families, and I think
you will appreciate more what they do every day and what we do once in
a while.
One of the issues that the chairman spoke about is how cyber security
is essential. We based our efforts on an insightful report by the Cyber
Solarium Commission, headed by Senator Angus King and Congressman
Mike Gallagher.
Every day, we are learning more about the Russian penetration of our
whole national security apparatus and civilian companies. Just today,
Microsoft announced that they have been deeply penetrated by the
Russian intrusion, and I suspect it is very serious.
This legislation was done, remarkably, before we knew of such an
intrusion and responds specifically to this type of cyber breach on the
United States. It gives the Department of Homeland Security the
authority to audit other agencies in terms of their cyber security and
take other steps to hunt for threats. It is just the first step, but if
we don't take this step, we will be further behind.
Now, the other thing I want to point out, too, is echoing what the
chairman said about the Pacific Deterrence Initiative. We have
identified $2 billion that can be used--and we will focus upon how it
is used--to create a new strategy. This is really the first time that
we have stepped back and said: Let's set up a strategic posture that
recognizes the true threats that China is now presenting to us in the
Pacific. This is the first time we have done this.
What it does is it builds on our close relationships with key
allies--Australia, Japan, South Korea. It does that by a series of
steps--first, through command post exercises where we test our
communications; second, real exercises. With these steps, we are
building to a point where large-scale joint exercises involving not
only our key allies but other partners become possible. That will set
us up for the ability to deter China. When they see all of the nations
of the Pacific that have worked with us closely and that are prepared
to work with us, that will be a great deterrence. That is the goal of
this effort. So any suggestion that China is happy about this bill is
completely baseless.
Then finally, again, like the chairman, I must thank the staff, John
Bonsell and Elizabeth King and the staff and all the Members. Again, my
congratulations to the chairman for his great work.
I urge passage. Again, I think this is essential. As I said before,
there are thousands of soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and
coastguardsmen who are

[[Page S8001]]

on the watch as we speak. It is our obligation to them to give them the
tools they need to protect us.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
Mr. INHOFE. I suggest that this is the most significant bill we have
passed in the last 59 years.
Mr. President, I would ask unanimous consent that the mandatory
quorum call be waived with respect to the motion to invoke cloture on
the veto message on H.R. 6395, the NDAA.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Without objection, it is so ordered.

Cloture Motion

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Pursuant to rule XXII, the Chair lays before
the Senate the pending cloture motion, which the clerk will state.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows

Cloture Motion

We, the undersigned Senators, in accordance with the
provisions of rule XXII of the Standing Rules of the Senate,
do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the veto message
on H.R. 6395, a bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal
year 2021 for military activities of the Department of
Defense, for military construction, and for defense
activities of the Department of Energy to prescribe military
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other
purposes.
Mitch McConnell, James M. Inhofe, Todd Young, John
Cornyn, Cindy Hyde-Smith, Mike Braun, Deb Fischer, John
Barrasso, Roger F. Wicker, Richard Burr, Pat Roberts,
Shelley Moore Capito, Mitt Romney, Susan M. Collins,
Richard C. Shelby, Thom Tillis, Lamar Alexander.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. By unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum
call has been waived.
The question is, Is it the sense of the Senate that debate on the
veto message on H.R. 6395, a bill to authorize appropriations for
fiscal year 2021 for military activities of the Department of Defense,
for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department
of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal
year, and for other purposes, shall be brought to a close?
The yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule.
The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator
from Arkansas (Mr. Cotton), the Senator from Texas (Mr. Cruz), the
Senator from Colorado (Mr. Gardner), the Senator from South Carolina
(Mr. Graham), the Senator from Georgia (Mrs. Loeffler), the Senator
from Georgia (Mr. Perdue), and the Senator from Nebraska (Mr. Sasse).
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Jones) is
necessarily absent.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The yeas and nays resulted--yeas 80, nays 12, as follows:

[Rollcall Vote No. 291 Leg.]

YEAS--80

Alexander
Baldwin
Barrasso
Bennet
Blackburn
Blumenthal
Blunt
Boozman
Brown
Burr
Cantwell
Capito
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Cassidy
Collins
Coons
Cornyn
Cortez Masto
Cramer
Crapo
Daines
Duckworth
Durbin
Enzi
Ernst
Feinstein
Fischer
Gillibrand
Grassley
Harris
Hassan
Heinrich
Hirono
Hoeven
Hyde-Smith
Inhofe
Johnson
Kaine
Kelly
King
Klobuchar
Lankford
Leahy
Manchin
McConnell
Menendez
Moran
Murkowski
Murphy
Murray
Peters
Portman
Reed
Risch
Roberts
Romney
Rosen
Rounds
Rubio
Schatz
Schumer
Scott (FL)
Scott (SC)
Shaheen
Shelby
Sinema
Smith
Stabenow
Sullivan
Tester
Thune
Tillis
Toomey
Udall
Warner
Whitehouse
Wicker
Young

NAYS--12

Booker
Braun
Hawley
Kennedy
Lee
Markey
Merkley
Paul
Sanders
Van Hollen
Warren
Wyden

NOT VOTING--8

Cotton
Cruz
Gardner
Graham
Jones
Loeffler
Perdue
Sasse
The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 80, the nays are
12.
Three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn having voted in
the affirmative, the motion is agreed to.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, we are going to go on to final passage,
and I just want to make one comment that this is a really significant
vote, not just because it is the NDAA and many of us contend, as I do,
every year that the NDAA is the most significant vote that we have, but
this year especially so in light of all the disruptions and problems
that we have had.
Once again, I want to say how great it has been to work and show the
American people that Democrats and Republicans can work together and
get significant legislation passed. I am very proud that we had this
bill, and I am proud to have worked with Senator Reed and his staff.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.
Mr. REED. Mr. President, this legislation is central to the national
security of the United States and to the welfare of the troops and
their families who defend us every day.
I would urge all my colleagues to vote to override the veto.
I want to thank Senator Inhofe for his leadership and congratulate
John Bonsell on the Republican side and Liz King on the Democratic
side.
Again, I urge all of my colleagues to vote for this bill.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.

Vote on H.R. 6395

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I know of no further debate.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there any further debate?
If not, the question is, Shall the bill (H.R. 6395) pass, the
objections of the President of the United States to the contrary
notwithstanding?
The yeas and nays are required under the Constitution.
The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. THUNE. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator
from Colorado (Mr. Gardner), the Senator from South Carolina (Mr.
Graham), the Senator from Georgia (Mrs. Loeffler), the Senator from
Georgia (Mr. Perdue), and the Senator from Nebraska (Mr. Sasse).
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Alabama (Mr. Jones) is
necessarily absent.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Hawley). Are there any other Senators in
the Chamber desiring to vote or change their vote?
The result was announced--yeas 81, nays 13, as follows:

[Rollcall Vote No. 292 Leg.]

YEAS--81

NAYS--13

Booker
Braun
Cotton
Cruz
Hawley
Kennedy
Lee
Markey
Merkley
Paul
Sanders
Warren
Wyden

NOT VOTING--6

Gardner
Graham
Jones
Loeffler
Perdue
Sasse
The PRESIDING OFFICER. On this vote, the yeas are 81, the nays are
13.
Two-thirds of the Senators voting, a quorum being present and having
voted in the affirmative, the bill on reconsideration is passed, the
objections of the President of the United States to the contrary
notwithstanding.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Inhofe). The Senator from Arkansas.

____________________