[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 192 (Monday, December 12, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7094-S7095]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
National Defense Authorization Act
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, after months of waiting, the Senate is
finally on track to take up and pass the National Defense Authorization
Act, 13 days now before Christmas. The pointless delay in this
fundamentally critical legislation has been a major point of
frustration, not just for colleagues here in the Senate but for the
leadership at the Pentagon and the people who need to make plans for
America's defense.
The Senate Armed Services Committee completed its work last summer,
but the majority leader apparently had other priorities and refused to
put the bill on the floor until now. It simply wasn't a priority.
We spent week after week confirming President Biden's judicial
nominees, but the majority leader couldn't seem to find the time to
take up and pass a must-pass piece of legislation, the annual Defense
bill.
And this is not the first time. It is the second year in a row that
the Senate has not passed its own version of the National Defense
Authorization Act, and so we find ourselves repeating the same bungled
process that played out last year.
Thanks, however, to Senator Inhofe and Senator Reed and our
colleagues on the Armed Services Committee, this bill still reflects
the hard work of our Senate colleagues.
But I want to underscore how unconventional this year's approach was
and make clear why this should not be the norm. We need to return to
what we call regular order around here, which is actually to allow all
100 Members of the Senate an opportunity to fully participate in
crafting critical legislation like this.
Of course, the Armed Services Committee did its job. The committee
held its hearings, worked with Members throughout the Senate, and
compiled a strong bill. But the majority leader is going to put a bill
on the floor and probably, in all likelihood, not allow any amendments
to that bill. In other words, this bill was voted out of the Armed
Services Committee, it was preconferenced with the House of
Representatives, and it is going to be laid before the American people
and this Senate as a fait accompli without adequate opportunity for
debate or amendment or for other noncommittee Members to have a hand in
crafting this important piece of legislation.
This is not how the Senate is supposed to work. Members of the Senate
don't run for the Senate and serve their States with the intent of
being potted plants when it comes to crafting important legislation,
and particularly this legislation, which is perhaps the single-most
important thing we do around here.
So for 2 years, we have skipped these critical steps. But this cannot
be the norm, and here is why: The National Defense Authorization Act
impacts every servicemember's pay. It pertains to military
construction, improvement of barracks, and military modernization. This
bill needs to follow regular order. It needs to be completed on time.
This bill should have been signed into law by President Biden last
September. We are more than 2 months into the fiscal year, and our
military commanders are still waiting for Congress to pass this
legislation and provide the certainty they need to plan for the future.
Mr. President, as you know, I am just talking about the authorization
bill. The actual appropriations process is similarly broken, where,
ordinarily, the 12 appropriation bills would come across the floor as
individual bills or as so-called minibuses rather than the anticipated
omnibus, which is $1.7 trillion worth of spending. The top line of that
bill has not even been agreed to by the ranking member and the chairman
of the Appropriations Committee and the leadership on both sides of the
Congress. Yet we are sitting around, again, 13 days before Christmas,
wondering: Are we going to be presented with another continuing
resolution--it looks like we are--that will take us to the 2 days
before Christmas, December 23? And then this bill of $1.7 trillion,
roughly speaking, will then be plopped out in front of us, and the only
option we will be given is a chance to vote no or to vote yes.
This is not the way the Senate should be operating. It is really a
slap in the face to the American people, who deserve a measure of
transparency, and to the Members of the Senate, who deserve at least
the courtesy and consideration of being able to participate in the
process, rather than being given the ugly choice between voting for a
$1.7 trillion omnibus appropriations bill we had no hand in writing or
to shut down the government. That is the decision that Senator Schumer
has chosen to give Members of this Senate, Republican and Democrat
alike. It is really outrageous.
Back to the Defense bill, it includes a significant increase in
defense funding--at least the authorization for that funding--coming in
at roughly $45 billion above the White House's most recent budget
request. So on a bipartisan basis, Members of the House and Senate--
Republicans and Democrats--agreed that President Biden short-handed the
Defense bill by about $45 billion.
Given the far-reaching threats facing our country and the world and
the continued impact of inflation, this is a necessary increase, and I
am glad House and Senate negotiators agreed that President Biden's
request was insufficient.
First and foremost, though, this bill should take care of our brave
men and women who serve in our Armed Forces. Thankfully, it includes an
authorization for the largest pay raise for our troops in two
decades. That is particularly important when inflation is roughly at a
40-year high. servicemembers and their families are facing the same
inflation headwinds as folks all across the country. So, starting next
month, they will receive a much-needed and well-deserved 4.6 percent
pay increase.
This year's National Defense Authorization Act also includes a range
of reforms to better support military families. In an all-volunteer
military, it is critical that we not only support the men and women who
wear the uniform but also the families who support them and, in effect,
serve with them.
This bill will extend reimbursement authority for spouse relicensing.
For example, it will ensure that nurses, teachers, and other spouses
whose jobs may require State-specific licenses are not saddled with an
added expense when they are reassigned to a State where their current
license is not valid. They can get a new one in their new home State
without additional expense.
This bill also funds programs in Texas independent school districts
that help military dependent children with severe disabilities.
And I am glad it includes bipartisan legislation that I introduced to
help improve sexual assault and domestic violence prevention policies
within the Department of Defense.
In addition to these reforms, the National Defense Authorization Act
will repeal the COVID-19 vaccine mandate, which led to the dismissal of
8,500 servicemembers. Recruiting has become a growing challenge across
the military, particularly the U.S. Army. Last year, the Army fell
15,000 soldiers short of its benchmark and was only able to recruit 75
percent of its recruitment goal.
Army Secretary Christine Wormuth called it ``the Army's most
challenging recruiting year since the start of the all-volunteer
force.'' Given the threats posed by Russia, China, North Korea, and
Iran, among other threats, this is not the time to force courageous
servicemembers out of the Armed Forces, particularly for a vaccine that
doesn't actually prevent COVID. This isn't like a lot of other vaccines
that will actually prevent you from contracting the virus.
This year's NDAA also authorizes investments in nuclear modernization
and other critical projects. It makes major investments in our military
installations, including those in Texas. It will fund military
construction projects at Fort Hood, Joint Base San Antonio, Corpus
Christi, Fort Bliss, and the Army Reserve Center in Conroe, TX.
It also authorizes 16 new F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, which will be
built by
[[Page S7095]]
Texans in Fort Worth. And it will ensure the United States can
replenish our defense stockpile and remain the arsenal of democracy for
the rest of the world, particularly Ukraine.
As Ukrainian forces continue to defend their country, this
legislation will provide additional resources to help them keep up the
fight. Now, this assistance is not a handout or a charity. As much as
we want to see Ukraine win this war, our financial support is not
entirely altruistic.
The United States is not just investing in a Ukrainian victory. We
are also putting our resources toward a Russian defeat. We are trying
to snuff out the fire before it spreads even further west.
Ukrainian forces have shown tremendous courage and stamina in the
face of Russian attacks, and they deserve our unequivocal support. And
I am gratified, as the Presiding Officer knows, that that support has
been bipartisan and overwhelming. For the last 10 months, the United
States has supplied Ukraine with critical military assistance, and
there is no question that our support has been vital to Ukraine's
success so far. But the one thing we can't supply that Ukraine has
supplied in abundance is a will to fight, and they have done so in a
magnificent way.
But the unavoidable fact is that, when we provide weapons to Ukraine
to defend their sovereignty, we take them out of our own defense
stockpile. The transfer of weapons to Ukraine combined with the
production challenges in the defense industrial base has made it
challenging to quickly replenish our own stockpiles; but this
legislation, when it is passed, will help that. It provides $2.7
billion for new munitions, which will help backfill our stockpiles and
expand production capacity. We need to be ready not just to deal with
the current challenges in Europe; we need to be ready for any
challenge, no matter where it arises, especially including in Asia.
It also provides $1 billion to more than double the size of the
national defense stockpile, which will help safeguard against future
supply chain disruptions. This will ensure that our support for Ukraine
does not come at the cost of our own military readiness.
Well, in all the last-minute political jockeying before this bill was
released, we were at least able to keep unrelated matters out of the
bill. There is no marijuana banking provision, for example--hardly
something that has anything to do with providing support for our brave
men and women in the military.
That is how it should be. We need to eliminate those extraneous
matters. This isn't the place for political horse trading. A well-
funded and modern defense is not a Republican priority; it is not a
Democratic priority; it is a national priority. We shouldn't use our
troops as a bargaining chip for woke priorities.
In order to protect the American people and our democracy, our
servicemembers and military commanders need a strong and on-time
National Defense Authorization Act. We are too late for on-time, but
this is ultimately a strong bill that will deliver certainty and
stability to our Armed Forces.
There is no such thing as a perfect bill, of course, but this
legislation will go a long way to support our troops and strengthen our
national security, and I look forward to finally getting a chance to
vote for it.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.