[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 192 (Tuesday, November 2, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7579-S7580]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   National Defense Authorization Act

  Mr. President, now, on another matter, each year, the National 
Defense Authorization Act represents the Senate's most consequential 
opportunity to help steer the course of defense and security policy. It 
is our chance to lay out our priorities for keeping America safe.
  For the past 60 years, without exception, Senate majorities have done 
the job and passed this crucial bill on a bipartisan vote, but, this 
year, our Democratic majority is sleepwalking toward yet another 
preventable problem.
  The process began with earnest deliberation among our colleagues on 
the Armed Services Committee. Chairman Reed and Ranking Member Inhofe 
presided over extensive discussions. They adopted 143 bipartisan 
amendments, and the committee reported out a final bill by a margin of 
23 to 3.
  Our colleagues began a process that should end with broad support for 
clear, bipartisan priorities, like equipping us to keep up with China's 
military modernization and combat a new generation of terrorist 
threats, but the Democratic leader has left the NDAA trapped in limbo 
while Democrats toy with another reckless taxing-and-spending spree.
  Neglecting the NDAA denies our Armed Forces the certainty they need, 
and it denies the Senate a debate about the most consequential national 
security issues. This is especially misguided in light of the Biden 
administration's erratic, rudderless approach to foreign policy.

[[Page S7580]]

  Just last week, administration officials acknowledged that hundreds 
more Americans than they initially claimed remain trapped in 
Afghanistan, that terrorists in the country are just months away from 
being capable of conducting attacks on U.S. soil, and that no basing 
agreements to allow for over-the-horizon operations had yet been 
reached.
  Emboldened terrorists are already stepping up violence against 
Americans and our allies in the Middle East. The administration is 
failing to deter Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria.
  The Russian threat has grown since President Biden took office, 
though you wouldn't know it by how quiet Senate Democrats have been on 
the subject. Putin is committed to modernizing his military to threaten 
U.S. and NATO forces, weaponizing his country's energy resources to 
pressure Europe, and escalating Russia's military pressure on Ukraine.
  Of course, the American military, American industries, and our allies 
and partners are also facing a communist China that is hell-bent--hell-
bent--on dominating trade and repressing dissent. This is not a 
regional threat but a global one. China's comprehensive military 
modernization is stunning in its scope. The PRC is building weapons and 
capabilities to target U.S. forces at greater and greater range. We 
ignore this threat at our peril.
  So there is never a good time for Congress to abdicate its role in 
guiding and overseeing national security policy, but the Biden 
administration's muddled mess of a foreign policy makes this an 
especially terrible time for the Senate Democratic majority to neglect 
these issues.
  Chairman Reed and Ranking Member Inhofe have given us an opportunity 
to fulfill the Senate's role in a serious, consequential way. Now the 
majority needs to let the Senate work. We need the kind of serious and 
rigorous floor process that the NDAA deserves.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Republican whip.