[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 195 (Thursday, December 15, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7208-S7209]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   National Defense Authorization Act

  Mr. McCONNELL. All year, Senate Republicans have urged Democrats to 
prioritize two basic governing duties, two tasks that are essential to 
keeping America safe, keeping us on track to remain the world's 
superpower, and doing right by our men and women in uniform.
  No. 1 is the annual Defense bill, where we authorize the investments, 
tools, and training that our commanders, leaders, and servicemembers 
need.
  No. 2 is passing government funding, where we back up the NDAA's 
ambitions with the actual dollars and cents that turn plans into 
reality.
  Bipartisan negotiators are still working on the second item. I hope 
they are able to produce text of a bipartisan government funding bill 
that can pass the Senate before our hard deadline next Thursday. 
Otherwise, I will support pivoting next week to a short-term continuing 
resolution into the new year.
  But I am glad that, in the very near future, the Senate will finally 
fulfill the first key duty and pass a strong NDAA named for our 
retiring ranking member, Senator Inhofe.
  I have spent all week discussing ways this legislation will help our 
Armed Forces and national security professionals, safeguard our 
homeland, bolster our partnerships, and keep adversaries like Russia on 
their back feet. Today, I want to focus on what most Senators agree is 
the single greatest medium-term and long-term national security 
challenge that our Nation faces, and that is the Chinese Communist 
Party.
  The legislation we will pass today includes provisions to extend our 
security assistance to Taiwan. It steps up our investments and 
capabilities that are essentially crucial to operations in the Indo-
Pacific, from space assets to naval mines.
  It reprioritizes countering China's nuclear breakout by curbing the 
Biden administration's naive efforts to retire critical elements of our 
nuclear arsenal.
  It tightens security on our cutting-edge research and bolsters sea-
launch strategic deterrent capabilities.
  And that is not all.
  This strong bipartisan bill puts new weight behind our long-term 
commitments to stand with both vulnerable countries in China's orbit 
and vulnerable people actually within its own borders.
  It will authorize a new Joint Force Headquarters right there in the 
region and make sure that U.S. military installations are not 
commercial destinations for goods that have been produced with Uighur 
slave labor in the Xinjiang Province.
  This bill will also help stiffen the spine of the liberal 
entertainment industry that apparently lacks the courage to cross 
Beijing without clearer incentives. This year's NDAA will prohibit the 
use of U.S. military assets, like ships or bases, in movies where the 
producers then turn around and allow Chinese censors to have final 
signoff. If Hollywood wants to trample on American principles of free 
expression in order to please the Communist Party, they won't get to 
use our Armed Forces as props in the process.
  Of course, stepping up our competition with China and limiting the 
risks to America from the CCP does not mean walking away from the world 
stage more broadly--quite the contrary. Checking the CCP will take a 
coordinated effort with even stronger, deeper ties between the United 
States and our like-minded friends and partners.
  That means everything from basing access to joint exercises and 
operations, to strengthening our own defense industrial base so that we 
can continue to score win-wins, in both security and economic terms, by 
selling our partners the defensive capabilities they need.
  Protecting America and winning the future does not entail pulling up 
our drawbridge, turning inward, and pretending the world will leave us 
alone.
  China is actively--actively--trying to undercut American interests 
and partnerships everywhere from Asia itself to the Middle East, to 
Africa and beyond.
  This NDAA will strengthen our hand. It prioritizes crucial 
partnerships in the Indo-Pacific. It adds New Zealand to the National 
Technological Industrial Base. It expands our ability to share cyber 
capabilities with operational partners, and it preserves vital security 
cooperation efforts in the Middle East and invests in expanding 
partnerships in Africa, South America, and beyond.
  The NDAA is only a first step toward the investments, modernization, 
and stronger strategies that we need to compete and to win against 
rivals who don't wish us well. But it is a crucial first step.
  Therefore, I encourage every Senator on both sides to support this 
important legislation.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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