[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 123 (Tuesday, July 18, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E693-E694]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





      PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 2670, NATIONAL DEFENSE 
                 AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2024

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 12, 2023

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on the rule for 
H.R. 2670, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal 
Year 2024.
  This is an important measure that for over 60 years, Republicans and 
Democrats have come together to support investments authorized in the 
NDAA that will help address the changing global landscape and prepare 
the country for future challenges and threats.
  I along with my colleagues have offered a number of robust and 
thoughtful amendments in furtherance of a process that has generally 
been bipartisan work on behalf of America's national defense.
  However, I am dismayed that this year, my Republican colleagues in 
the majority have refused meaningful consideration of the majority of 
amendments offered by my Democratic colleagues.
  While I am grateful that one of my amendments was made in order, the 
Jackson Lee Amendment No. 1075 (No. 136 as reported in the Rule) and 
included in the En Bloc package No. 3, it is beyond disappointing and 
disgraceful that my additional 19 amendments were not made in order--
and particularly ones I have offered for many years and have been made 
in order.
  With respect to my amendment that was made in order, I ask for a 
favorable vote on the En Bloc package No. 3 in support of the Jackson 
Lee Amendment No. 1075.
  The Jackson Lee Amendment No. 1075 would require that a report be 
submitted within 220 days of the NDAA's passage detailing our national 
capacity to provide disaster survivors with short term housing.
  In the aftermath of emergencies and national disasters, victims have 
much on their minds.
  Homes, properties, businesses, and livelihoods may have been damaged 
in the disaster, and families, friends, and community members may be 
mentally and physically affected by the disaster, not to mention 
additional challenges as they seek to return to work and school.
  As these communities begin to face the long process of recovery and 
rebuilding, short term housing is one of the first things disaster 
survivors need to get back on their feet.
  Unfortunately, my constituents and I are no stranger to these kinds 
of disasters.
  In 2017, Hurricane Harvey devastated the Houston area, affecting over 
100,000 homes across the city. In the aftermath of the storm, finding 
temporary housing was one of the biggest challenges to recovery for 
many suIvivors.
  Short-term housing was difficult to coordinate due to the sheer 
number of Houstonians affected. As such, it is crucial that Congress 
have a strong understanding of our current capabilities and, 
specifically, our ability to provide these survivors with short term 
housing before disaster strikes.
  If voted on favorably, this report will not only inform us of our 
current capacity to provide housing but will also better equip Congress 
to respond to disasters and support survivors in the future.
  In addition to this amendment, I offered the below listed amendments.
  The Jackson Lee Amendment No. 1051 directed the Secretary of Defense 
to submit a report on the naming practices recognizing African American 
service members in the Department of Defense.
  Throughout the history of our Nation, from the Battle of Lexington 
through the Battle of Fallujah to Afghanistan and Iraq, Black soldiers 
have served honorably and answered the call to duty during our nation's 
time of maximum danger.
  For over 200 years, African Americans have participated in every 
conflict that confronted this Nation.
  Besides fighting the common enemies of this country with unmatched 
bravery and valor, Black soldiers also had to confront individual and 
institutional racism of their countrymen.
  African American servicemembers have served with great valor and 
distinction in all branches of our nation's armed forces.
  Since the revolutionary war, Black Americans have faithfully defended 
this Nation and built a legacy of courage, commitment, and 
professionalism.
  Like any other group of Americans, Black soldiers have served the 
armed forces with great honor, distinction, and generational 
inspiration.
  The Jackson Lee Amendment No. 1051 would have ensured that the 
legacies of Black American servicemembers are duly recognized and 
honored.
  The Jackson Lee Amendment No. 1104 requires a report to be submitted 
to Congress within 240 days of NDAA enactment on the risks posed by 
debris in low Earth orbit and to make recommendations on remediation of 
risks and outline plans to reduce the incident of space debris.
  Space debris encompasses both natural and artificial particles and 
this amendment would address the risk of man-made space debris. Man-
made objects in Earth's orbit that may no longer serve a useful 
function can include nonfunctional spacecraft, abandoned launch vehicle 
stages, mission-related debris and fragmentation debris.
  Space debris travels at speeds up to 17,500 miles per hour--fast 
enough for a small piece of man-made debris to damage a satellite or a 
spacecraft.
  There are more than 20,000 pieces of debris larger than a softball 
orbiting the Earth. There are 500,000 pieces of debris the size of a 
marble or larger tracked by NASA, and there are many millions of pieces 
of debris that are so small they can't be tracked.
  This amendment seeks a report on risks posed by man-made space 
debris, solutions for reducing risks, and strategies for reducing the 
incidence of more man-made space debris being introduced into space.
  Jackson Lee Amendment No. 1104 would have addressed these challenges.
  Jackson Lee Amendment No. 1402 requires the Secretary of Defense to 
ensure that military academy graduates undergo screening for speech 
disorders and be provided with their results.
  Many officer positions and occupation specialists require successful 
performance on the speech test, so it is essential that military 
academy students are aware of their status as they shape their career 
path.
  Under this amendment, military academy students would have the option 
of undergoing speech therapy to reduce speech disorders or impediments.
  Thus, military academy students who do not perform successfully on 
the speech test have the opportunity to improve their performance and 
potentially go on to pursue the officer and specialist positions they 
seek.
  Approximately 5-10 percent of all children stutter as they develop 
language skills. Boys are 2 to 3 times more likely to stutter than 
girls. And approximately 75 percent of children recover from 
stuttering, but the remaining 25 percent will experience life-long 
effects of stuttering.
  I offered this amendment to help entrants into military academies 
find the right career fit for their military service after graduation.
  I learned about the issue of stuttering and its implications for a 
successful military career through the experiences of a Legislative 
Fellow who once served in my D.C. office.
  He was a 2016 graduate from the United States Naval Academy with a 
degree in Operations Research and a veteran naval officer who was 
separated from the Navy in April 2019 because his speech fluency 
testing results did not meet the Naval Aviation community standards, 
and so he was disqualified from serving as an aviator.
  At that critical juncture he was not informed about what careers he 
could qualify to fill that would not be impacted by the determination 
regarding his speech.
  This Jackson Lee Amendment No. 1402 would have represented an 
important investment in military academy students, improving 
transparency and providing avenues for personal improvement, ensuring 
quality candidates for vital military leadership positions.
  Jackson Lee Amendment No. 1405 removes bill language about Critical 
Race Theory, thereby rejecting any efforts to inject politics into the 
armed services.
  In this way, my amendment affirms the importance of July 26, 1948, 
the date that President Harry Truman signed Executive Order 9981, 
creating the President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and 
Opportunity in the Armed Services.
  This executive order desegregated the military and declared that 
there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all in the 
armed services without regard to race, color, religion, or national 
origin.
  This was a major step forward and was the result of dedicated 
advocacy efforts from the NAACP and ACLU, as well as President Truman's 
own commitment to the issue.
  The importance of this Executive Order and the change it brought 
about cannot be overstated. The diversity of the military and the 
equality of opportunity found there is one of the major strengths of 
the armed services.
  It is crucial that the armed services continue their commitment to 
live out the promises of equality and opportunity enshrined in 
Executive Order 9981.
  The current provisions of the NDAA which prohibit the use of federal 
funds for critical race theory are largely political in nature and 
represent a step away from the promises President Truman made of 
equality and opportunity in the military. The Jackson Lee Amendment No. 
1405 would have ensured that these

[[Page E694]]

political provisions are struck, thereby affirming the value of 
diversity and equality of opportunity throughout our military.
  Jackson Lee Amendment No. 1406 requires a report be provided to the 
House and Senate Armed Services committee on the extent that readiness 
relies on electricity availability to bases, installations, and duty 
stations.
  The report would provide an assessment on the military's reliance 
upon electricity service provided by transformers that manage power 
transmission from high power lines to end points. The assessment would 
evaluate supply chain issues impacting the availability of transformers 
and surplus transformers held in reserve by the military. The report 
would also assess the overall market supply and demand for 
transformers, and any risks that market availability issues of 
transformers pose to military readiness, to ensure recommendations on 
resolving any risk to readiness posed by supply chain issues with 
transformers. The report would also evaluate the extent if any that 
extreme weather plays on transformer supply. As such, Congress can be 
best informed on military readiness if supply chain issues with 
transformers persist. And Congress can ensure that the bases, 
installations, and duty stations of the armed services maintain the 
electricity they need to remain reliable and fulfill their function, 
even in times of crisis induced by natural disasters or supply chain 
issues. This Jackson Lee Amendment No. 1406 offered a proactive 
approach to military electricity supply and would have ensured informed 
responses when issues arise.
  Jackson Lee Amendment No. 1509 helps to address military recruitment 
and retention needs by providing the following modifications to the J-1 
Visa process:
  J-1 Visa holders who have been legally admitted into the United 
States and have successfully completed 8 months out of a 12-month visa 
duration or 14 months out of an 18-month visa duration may pursue 
opportunities to join the military. If inducted into the armed 
services, they would qualify for permanent residency provided they meet 
other enlistment requirements, military fitness standards, have no 
criminal background, and are of good conduct during their period of 
enlistment and during which time they may pursue citizenship.
  During the first years of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, many 
military experts expressed concerns that the constant deployments could 
negatively impact the force with the expectation that fewer young 
Americans would volunteer to serve in a wartime military. The 
expectations of these experts seem tenable given the current 
recruitment crisis following our full withdrawal from Afghanistan the 
summer of 2022.
  With the current trend, this recruitment crisis shows no signs of 
abating anytime soon. As a result, we see shrinking numbers in all 
branches of our forces. To put this in perspective, the last fiscal 
year, the Army missed its recruitment goal by about 15,000 active-duty 
soldiers, roughly 25 percent of its target. Consequently, the army was 
forced to cut its projected active-duty end strength from about 476,000 
down to around 466,000. Shrinking numbers is not caused by strategic 
choices but largely due to the lack of qualified volunteers. The 
Jackson Lee Amendment No. 1509 would have addressed this recruitment 
crisis with serious implications for our strategic position in this 
increasingly uncertain and dangerous world.
  The Jackson Lee Amendment No. l510 directs the Secretary of Defense 
to establish a task force 180 days after enactment that will report to 
the House and Senate Armed Services Committees and make publicly 
available an annual report that explains the progress made over the 
history of the Department of Defense and its predecessor departments 
(Department of War) and experiences in integrating African Americans 
into the branches of the armed services and the civilian staffing of 
Pentagon offices and agencies.
  The report shall provide information on the lessons learned about the 
social, cultural, legal, and logistical challenges faced, obstacles 
incurred, advances made, and the impact of integration on the 
warfighting capacity of the Nation.
  In this way, the lessons of military integration can be drawn upon by 
policy makers charged with the important and necessary work of binding 
up the nation's wounds first inflicted with the governmental 
legalization and tolerance of slavery in the United States. The Jackson 
Lee Amendment No. 1510 would have made this possible.
  Jackson Lee Amendment No. 1512 requires the Chief of the National 
Guard Bureau, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, to submit 
a report identifying the personnel, training, and equipment required by 
the non-federalized National Guard to prevent, mitigate, respond to, 
and recover from natural and manmade disasters.
  It is always hard to ever fully be prepared for what is to come 
whenever any form of disaster strikes. It therefore helps to know that 
the survival specialists of the Air National Guard are always equipped, 
ready, and quick to respond and assist the affected communities. 
Whenever a state of emergency is declared, it is because the 
authorities believe that the disaster that has occurred or is imminent, 
is severe enough to require State or federal aid to increase local 
resources to prevent and alleviate damage, suffering, and hardship to 
the affected communities.
  The Air National Guard has an exceptionally unique role in aiding the 
prevention and recovery of these forms of disasters disaster. Jackson 
Lee Amendment No. 1512 would have ensured that the Air National Guard 
was prepared to successfully fulfill their role in disaster prevention 
and recovery.
  Jackson Lee Amendment No. 15l4 requires the Secretary of the Navy, 
not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, to 
submit to the congressional defense committees a report on 
desalinization technology's application for defense and national 
security purposes to provide drought relief to areas impacted by sharp 
declines in water resources.
  Throughout the history of our Nation, the U.S. Navy has been a 
pioneer in national defense and security technology. The two main types 
of desalination systems on Navy ships, including reverse osmosis and 
distillation, produce up to 12,000 gallons of fresh, drinkable water a 
day.
  The U.S. Navy has a unique opportunity to share resources and 
technology that lowers the cost of clean water production and use low-
carbon energy sources. Now, as climate change becomes an increasing 
national security concern, desalinization technology could have 
rippling benefits for drought concerns here in the U.S. and around the 
world.
  In one of the most unstable and geopolitical regions of the world, 
the Middle East and North Africa, water scarcity is a severe problem, 
with over 60 percent of the population having little or no access to 
drinking water. Currently, the region is heavily dependent on their 
current system of desalination, which is expensive and energy 
intensive. As many as 13 out of 22 Arab countries fall into the 
category of severe water scarcity and Navy desalination technology 
could make significant improvements in their process, addressing both 
climate change and security concerns.
  Beyond addressing humanitarian concerns, this report will support 
needs here at home as water scarcity is a growing concern. New 
desalination technologies could give Americans an opportunity to be 
prepared for the next water crisis. Jackson Lee Amendment No. 1514 
offered a proactive approach to protecting our national security and 
our planet as a whole.