[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 124 (Wednesday, July 19, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3129-S3130]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2024

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 2226) to authorize appropriations for fiscal 
     year 2024 for military activities of the Department of 
     Defense, for military construction, and for defense 
     activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military 
     personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other 
     purposes.


                           Amendment No. 935

  (Purpose: in the nature of a substitute)
  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I call up substitute amendment No. 935.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from New York [Mr. Schumer], for Mr. Reed, 
     proposes an amendment numbered 935.

  Mr. SCHUMER. I ask unanimous consent that further reading of the 
amendment be dispensed with, and I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  (The amendment is printed in today's Record under ``Text of 
Amendments.'')


                           Amendment No. 936

  Mr. SCHUMER. I call up amendment No. 936 and ask that it be reported 
by number.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from New York [Mr. Schumer] proposes an 
     amendment numbered 936 to amendment No. 935.

  The amendment is as follows:

                  (Purpose: To add an effective date)

       At the end add the following:

     SEC. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       This Act shall take effect on the date that is 1 day after 
     the date of enactment of this Act.


                           Order of Business

  Mr. SCHUMER. Finally, I ask unanimous consent that it be in order to 
call

[[Page S3130]]

up the following amendments: Murray, No. 300; Kaine, No. 429; Paul, No. 
222; Hawley-Vance, No. 838; Cruz-Manchin, No. 926; further, that with 
respect to the amendments listed above, at 3 p.m., the Senate vote on 
the amendments in the order listed, with no further amendments or 
motions in order, and with 60 affirmative votes required for adoption 
and that there be 2 minutes equally divided prior to each vote.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.


                                 Israel

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, later this morning, it will be my honor 
to join congressional leaders in welcoming President Isaac Herzog of 
Israel to the Capitol for a joint address to Congress.
  Since the founding of the Nation of Israel 75 years ago, he has been 
one of America's most important allies and fiercest friends. The United 
States was the first country to recognize Israel as an independent 
state; and to this day, our bond remains strong, our partnership 
essential.
  While we have our differences, the United States and Israel are 
united in the most profound ways that two nations could be. America's 
support for Israel must never waver because Israel will be an essential 
partner for the United States in the 21st century.
  I look forward to meeting with President Herzog this morning, and I 
join congressional leaders in welcoming him to Congress.


                                S. 2226

  Madam President, now on the NDAA, last night, the Senate began the 
process for floor consideration of the annual Defense bill on a 
bipartisan vote, 72 to 25. This morning, we locked in an agreement to 
begin consideration of amendments on the floor. We will begin voting 
this afternoon, and we want this process to be open and fair, without 
being dilatory.
  We want both sides to have input, but neither side should derail the 
bill. We should avoid the chaos we saw last week in the House that 
greatly hindered their NDAA process.
  So far, we have avoided that. The process in the Senate has been 
constructive and moved along at a good pace. I am pleased to say the 
managers' package has 51 amendments--21 from Republicans, 21 from 
Democrats, and 9 bipartisan. I hope there will be a second managers' 
package with even more priorities for both sides.

  The Senate's NDAA process is an example of how, even with all our 
disagreements, this Chamber is able to come together to provide for our 
Nation's defense, take care of our servicemembers, take care of our 
civilian DOD workforce, and invest in modernizing our defense and 
intelligence capabilities. If both sides keep working together, I hope 
we can finish passing the Defense authorization bill before August. I 
think most of us would like to see that happen. There is no 
justification for letting it spill into the fall. We have a lot of work 
to do before we get there, but we are on track to get it done.
  We have every reason in the world to finish the NDAA bill quickly 
because there is a lot both sides can celebrate in this year's bill. 
Many of the NDAA's provisions might typically fly under the radar 
because they seem incremental, but in their totality, they make a huge 
difference in our country.
  We will make much needed progress on additional new areas, like 
outcompeting the Chinese Government. We will take our first steps on AI 
legislation. We will boost resources in a major way to tackle the 
fentanyl crisis. We will strengthen the bonds with our allies around 
the world, especially the UK and Australia.
  I hope we will have a vote on the full AUKUS package soon.
  On competing with the Chinese Government, I am pleased this year's 
NDAA will have over a dozen amendments in the managers' package.
  On the fentanyl crisis, the amendment by Tim Scott and Sherrod Brown 
will enhance the Federal Government's ability to disrupt illicit opioid 
supply chains and punish those who facilitate fentanyl tracking. This 
is a major piece of legislation that is going to give the President 
more powers to stop any country--China, Mexico--from sending the 
precursor materials that are made into fentanyl and kill our children.
  Here is what it does: It declares international trafficking of 
fentanyl a national emergency--a national emergency. It requires the 
President to sanction criminal organizations and cartel members who 
traffic this drug. It will enhance the administration's ability to 
enforce sanctions violations. It will allow the Treasury to take 
special measures to combat money laundering connected to fentanyl, and 
much, much more.
  Approving our FEND Off Fentanyl Act will be a huge win in the battle 
against opioids--one of the worst public health crises in the country. 
I thank Chairman Brown and Ranking Member Scott for championing this 
measure.
  Finally, this year's NDAA will take important steps on artificial 
intelligence. My amendment, which I worked on with Senators Rounds, 
Young, and Heinrich, will increase data sharing within DOD, increase 
reporting on AI's use in the financial services industry, create a 
``bug bounty program'' where ethical hackers help us find 
vulnerabilities in our defenses, and much, much more.
  The Senate process on the NDAA stands in sharp contrast with what we 
saw in the House. In the Senate, Democrats and Republicans worked 
together, mindful of the importance to preserve our national security, 
while the process in the House, unfortunately, was sadly delayed and at 
times derailed by wildly partisan and irrelevant hard-right amendments 
that have nothing to do with defense. We have not seen that so far in 
the Senate. We should keep it that way.
  For all these great reasons for getting the NDAA done, we hope we can 
get it done as soon as possible. We will begin voting today on 
amendments, and I hope we can keep this process moving along.


                  Unanimous Consent Agreement--S. 2226

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that it be in 
order to ask for the yeas and nays on the substitute amendment No. 935.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Welch). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. SCHUMER. I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.

                          ____________________