[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 120 (Thursday, July 13, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H3483-H3484]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                LET'S GET SERIOUS ABOUT SPENDING LEVELS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I couldn't disagree more with my 
distinguished colleague who just spoke.
  Even with 1,500 proposed amendments to the National Defense 
Authorization Act, it remains a disgrace. The majority talks big about 
cutting money, but they fail on some of the most fundamental 
opportunities.
  They reject commonsense solutions and have failed to support 
meaningful cost-saving reforms. They have held the global economy 
hostage over spending levels, but I hope they will take advantage yet 
to make some adjustments, including my amendment with Representatives 
McGovern and Garamendi to end the wasteful funding of the outdated, 
ineffective B83-1 bomber that the 2022 defense posture laid out. It was 
unnecessary and wasteful.
  If they wanted to get serious about addressing spending levels, we 
should stop wasting taxpayer dollars on weapons that don't work, on 
ships the Navy doesn't want, and nuclear weapons that are outdated and 
increasingly costly to maintain.
  Adding even more money to an all-time record defense spending regime 
does nothing to improve American security or strengthen our allies, 
including the valiant Ukrainians in a fight for their very survival.

  At a time of renewed security threats to the United States, a war 
raging in Ukraine, tensions in Asia and the Pacific, so much 
controversy over government spending, this legislation falls so 
painfully short of the mark.
  It is funding battleships that don't work after spending billions to 
develop the Freedom-class littoral combat ships that marked their 
initial run with engine failures. The Navy doesn't want them. Retiring 
them would save $4.3 billion over the next 5 years, but Republicans 
continue to protect it to have jobs in Florida.
  This bill leaves unfinished business in the work of protecting our 
troops, their families, and their neighborhoods from military toxins 
and explosives. Congress has long failed to make UXO and toxin cleanup 
a priority, and our servicemen and civilians continue to pay the price.
  The United States is the largest energy consumer in the world. We 
should be focusing on ways to make them even more energy efficient.
  The Department of Defense has appropriately been a leader in clean 
energy, water protection, and disaster preparation. These are not arts 
and crafts projects. It is all about readiness. Improving efficiency 
and energy resilience makes our troops safer and saves critical money.
  The newly empowered Republican majority has decided to throw money at 
mismanaged priorities in terms of taking the culture wars to the 
Department of Defense, stripping away protections and programs that 
deal with the diversity of our military.
  Social issues are defense issues, and the continued onslaught of 
restrictions against people of color, those who are LGBTQ, or those 
whose healthcare is under attack causes America to lose potential 
servicemembers we need most.
  We are not meeting our recruitment objectives now, and taking the 
culture wars against the Department of Defense, fighting against 
diversity, makes us less ready.
  Recruitment and retention are serious challenges plaguing our 
military, and the Republican attacks on those they don't like make us 
more vulnerable. These are honorable people, and the military needs 
them.
  The good news is that most of the sideshow we will be dealing with 
today and into the night will never be enacted into law, but making 
these attacks and forcing these votes on readiness is not harmless. 
Even though they are ineffective does not mean that damage is not being 
done.

[[Page H3484]]

  Look at the charade from Alabama's junior Senator paralyzing the 
orderly function of the military command structure over an ill-advised, 
unpopular, wrongheaded crusade against giving American military 
personnel the healthcare they deserve.
  Denial of healthcare is another way we are driving qualified people 
out of the military. It is a travesty to deny them the same option, for 
instance, for medical cannabis that Americans enjoy in most States.
  With so many of our veterans and servicemembers suffering from 
wounds, visible and hidden, the record is clear that medical cannabis 
can be transformative. It will help our servicemembers save money and 
improve the quality of their care.
  I am pleased that my colleague Brian Mast and I have been able to 
develop bipartisan legislation to remedy the situation, and I hope this 
Congress will relent and allow us to enact it.
  While I may disagree with the spending priorities and the massive 
increase in spending, I remain impressed with our men and women in 
uniform, from the brave recruits to the senior officers. They reflect 
so much of what is good about America. We should embrace our 
responsibilities for today and into the future by respecting the 
differences and strengthening opportunities to serve.
  Mr. Speaker, we have a duty to them and our national security to do 
so.

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