[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 217 (Thursday, December 16, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9254-S9255]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, I rise to speak on the National 
Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2022.
  The National Defense Authorization Act provides crucial resources for 
our Armed Forces and our national defense, including a 2.7 percent pay 
increase for our servicemembers and DOD civilian employees, parental 
and bereavement leave for servicemembers, and the creation of basic 
needs allowance. I am glad that the Senate was able to come together on 
a bipartisan basis to pass this legislation to support our 
servicemembers, strengthen our national security, and invest in 
critical projects in my home State of Maryland, including over $500 
million in authorized military construction projects across the State. 
This legislation also includes several important pieces of legislation 
that I introduced to strengthen our Foreign Service, ensure that all 
students have a fair shot at attending one of our Federal service 
academies, and support our Federal firefighters. While there are parts 
of this legislation that I have concerns with and important priorities 
that were left out, I believe that, on balance, this bill serves our 
national interest.
  In particular, I am pleased that this NDAA includes the Foreign 
Service Families Act of 2021, which I introduced with Senator Sullivan, 
with whom I cochair the Foreign Service Caucus. As the son of a Foreign 
Service Officer, I know the challenges that Foreign Service families 
face in accessing education and employment when they accompany our 
diplomats abroad. That is why I introduced this legislation, which 
authorizes expanded employment services for the spouses of Foreign 
Service officers serving overseas. It also extends in-state tuition at 
public colleges and universities for Foreign Service members and their 
families after 30 days of residency in a State and allows Foreign 
Service families to terminate leases without penalty when ordered to 
move for work. This legislation will make a real difference in the 
lives of our Foreign Service families and will help reduce attrition 
and attract the talented and diverse diplomatic workforce we need to 
compete on the global stage. It is modeled after benefits we extend to 
military families, who also have to move frequently in service to our 
country.
  I am also glad that this legislation includes the SERVE Act, which I 
introduced with Senator Cardin and Representative Brown. This bill 
ensures that high school students applying to attend one of our Federal 
service academies do not lose out on opportunities to be nominated 
because of a vacancy in Congress. After the tragic loss of my friend 
and colleague, Representative Elijah Cummings, my office learned that 
nomination slots at our service academies, like the U.S. Naval Academy 
in Annapolis, cease to exist if a seat in Congress is vacant at the 
time nominations are due. This meant that a student from Congressman 
Cummings' district had one-third fewer opportunities to receive a 
nomination to a service academy. As a result of this new law, Senators 
may make nominations on behalf of a vacant seat, ensuring that students 
do not lose an opportunity to serve their country through no fault of 
their own.
  Further, I am glad Armed Services Committee agreed to include the 
Federal Firefighter Flexibility and Fairness Act, which I introduced 
with Senators Tester, Collins, and Carper and Representatives Sarbanes 
and Wittman. This legislation grants additional

[[Page S9255]]

flexibility to our Federal firefighters that their State and local 
counterparts have enjoyed for many years. As a result of this bill, 
Federal firefighters will be able to trade shifts across pay periods 
without negatively affecting their pay.
  This NDAA also establishes a consortium on irregular warfare threats, 
a critical step in the transfer of the National Consortium for the 
Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism--START--from the 
sponsorship of the Department of Homeland Security to the Department of 
Defense, which has the resources to maintain this national security 
research. I previously worked to secure funding for this transition in 
the FY21 defense appropriations bill. The National Consortium for the 
Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, better known as START, 
is a university-based research and education center based at the 
University of Maryland and comprised of an international network of 
scholars committed to the scientific study of the causes and human 
consequences of terrorism in the United States and around the world.
  I am also glad the NDAA incorporates the Enhancing Military Base 
Resilience and Conserving Ecosystems through Stormwater Management Act, 
which I introduced with Senators Kaine, Cardin, and Warner. This bill 
authorizes the Defense Department to carry out stormwater management 
projects on military installations. These projects will improve 
installation resilience and essential infrastructure that supports 
military installations and protect nearby waterways like the Chesapeake 
Bay. In August, I worked to secure language in the FY22 Military 
Construction-VA Appropriations bill encouraging the Department of 
Defense to use Energy Resilience and Conservation Program funds to 
support stormwater management projects in the Chesapeake Bay watershed 
in order to better protect and conserve the health of the bay.
  I also want to thank my colleagues on the Senate Armed Services 
Committee for working with me to address the Army's incorrect 
application of the law pertaining to the Prisoner of War Medal, which 
has negatively affected a Maryland veteran. In 2020, I asked the Army 
to award the POW Medal to Marylander Ronald Dolecki for his military 
service in Ethiopia in 1965, which he has been denied for over a 
decade. Mr. Dolecki clearly qualifies for the Medal under the criteria 
established by Congress in the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act, 
but the Army continued to incorrectly apply the previous standard to 
his case. I am grateful to Chairman Reed and Ranking Member Inhofe for 
including language directing the Army to rectify its incorrect 
application of the law to ensure that this Marylander who served his 
country with honor and distinction and others like him are 
appropriately recognized.
  Lastly, this bill includes funding and language that is critical to 
supporting Maryland's military installations, including more than $350 
million for Fort Meade, more than $150 million for Walter Reed National 
Military Medical Center, and more than $30 million for Joint Base 
Andrews. The bill also includes report language ensuring the Army's 
continued support for the demolition of contaminated facilities at 
Aberdeen Proving Ground and provisions to continue responding to the 
recent crisis in privatized military housing which affected 
installations in Maryland and across the country.
  While I am pleased with many of the provisions included in this bill 
and voted for its passage, I do have significant reservations.
  I appreciate that this bill codifies the GAO's recommendations 
related to tactical vehicle rollover accidents in response to the 
tragic loss of lLT Conor McDowell, a U.S. marine who lost his life in a 
training accident at Camp Pendleton. 1LT McDowell showed extraordinary 
bravery, saving the life of a fellow marine, and Congress has a 
responsibility to ensure that these preventable crashes end. The bill 
also includes a directive that the Department of Defense report on the 
cost and feasibility of a pilot program that Senators Cardin and 
Representatives Brown and Wittman and I proposed in the the 1LT Hugh 
Conor McDowell Safety in Armed Forces Equipment Act of 2021. This 
simple, straightforward bill directs the Departments of the Army and 
the Navy to jointly implement a 5-year pilot program to evaluate the 
prospect of using data recorders to monitor, assess, and improve the 
readiness and safety of the operation of military tactical vehicles. 
This commonsense program will improve the safety of our men and women 
in uniform and save lives. I believe we could have proceeded with this 
pilot today, but look forward to receiving the mandated report no later 
than March 1, 2022, as directed, and I will continue to advocate 
vigorously for the implementation of this program.
  I am disappointed that the NOAA does not include my amendment to 
prohibit the use of funds for the research and development, production 
or deployment of the nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile--SLCM-
N--and its associated nuclear warhead. The United States already 
possesses an array of nonstrategic nuclear capabilities that fulfill 
our theater nuclear deterrence missions and reassure our allies of our 
extended deterrence commitments. In its 2019 cost estimate of U.S. 
nuclear weapons programs, the CBO projected that the SLCM-N would cost 
$9 billion through 2028. This projection does not account for 
production costs after 2028, nor does it factor in costs associated 
with integrating the missile on ships, nuclear weapons training for 
personnel, and storage and security for nuclear warheads on naval 
bases. Not only is the program a waste of money, it will also 
dangerously raise the risk of nuclear miscalculation and escalation.
  I also believe that this bill fails to tackle the long-term budget 
challenges facing our country. In the midst of a pandemic that has 
taken the lives of more than 800,000 of our fellow Americans, we simply 
cannot afford to continue this level of investment in defense at the 
expense of other critical national priorities. I oppose the decision to 
invest an additional $25 billion over the President's budget request 
for defense while we continue to underinvest in diplomacy, development, 
and a wide range of critical domestic priorities.
  Lastly, I am disappointed that the bill did not include my amendment 
with Representative Jacobs to close a loophole that allows some U.S. 
security assistance to foreign forces without being subject to Leahy 
law restrictions that bar U.S. military assistance to units credibly 
believed to have engaged in gross violations of human rights. This is a 
simple, straightforward matter of the United States living up to our 
most basic commitments as a member of the international community. The 
accompanying NDAA report language does require the presentation of a 
report detailing the processes through which the Defense Department 
seeks to ensure that consideration is given to any credible information 
relating to violations of human rights by such entities, before support 
is given to them. I will be reviewing that report closely to determine 
what further action is necessary to safeguard human rights and ensure 
that no U.S. security assistance is exempt from these commonsense 
restrictions.
  While I am opposed to some of the provisions in this bill and 
disappointed by the omission of others, I believe that, on balance, the 
NDAA will strengthen our national security and advance other important 
national priorities. For that reason, I voted in support of final 
passage.

                          ____________________