[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.