[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 125 (Thursday, July 20, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3437-S3438]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Business Before the Senate

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, today, the Senate will continue the 
bipartisan process of passing our annual Defense authorization bill, 
the NDAA.
  We had a productive afternoon yesterday. We held votes on four 
amendments, from both Democrats and Republicans.
  We affirmed our unflinching commitment to our NATO allies by 
defeating an amendment that sought to undermine our support for the 
transatlantic relationship. Eighty-three Senators united to defeat this 
amendment, and I thank every single one of them for standing firm. It 
is a majority of both parties.
  In another win for NATO, we also adopted Senator Kaine's amendment 
stating that no President can unilaterally take us out of NATO without 
Senate approval. Adopting Kaine's amendment was an unmistakable message 
to both our friends and foes that America's commitment to NATO will not 
waiver. The political winds may shift, but America's bonds to NATO will 
remain unbent.
  That is what passing the annual defense bill should look like: both 
sides proposing and debating amendments, both sides having input, both 
sides working in good faith to get this bill passed as soon as we can.
  We will keep working today. After voting on the Cruz-Manchin-
Fetterman amendment this morning, I hope we can agree to additional 
votes. We will keep negotiating on additional reasonable amendments 
that we can bring to the floor, so we can keep this process going.
  Nobody thinks this kind of bipartisanship is easy, and both sides 
have honest disagreements, as we do on so many issues. But that should 
not prevent us from fulfilling our obligation to take care of our 
servicemembers, take care of our DOD workforce, and provide for our 
common defense, so necessary these days.
  There is every reason in the world to get this bill done as soon as 
we can. As I have said all week, the NDAA is full of provisions that 
both sides can celebrate--provisions that seem incremental on their own 
but together provide a strong foundation for the security of this 
Nation.
  We will make important progress to outcompete the Chinese Government. 
We will pass the first pieces of legislation this year related to AI 
oversight.

[[Page S3438]]

We will strengthen our ties to Taiwan, increase our influence in the 
Indo-Pacific, make progress on the vital AUKUS partnership, and 
increase the administration's power to sanction and punish 
international fentanyl traffickers.
  I mentioned this before, but I cannot emphasize it enough. This 
fentanyl bill is a major, major help in stopping the scourge of 
fentanyl from coming into this country. Members on both sides of the 
aisle should celebrate that in a bipartisan way. Under the leadership 
of Senator Brown and Senator Tim Scott, we were able to get this done.
  All of these agreements are the result of both sides working 
together, each one a good reason to keep going until the job was done. 
Both sides will continue working today and into next week until we pass 
the NDAA. We are making good progress, but, of course, we still have 
more to do.