[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 59 (Monday, April 8, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2631-S2632]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                    Supplemental Government Funding

  Madam President, on a related matter, America's national security 
depends on sustained investment in both cutting-edge capabilities and 
expanded defense industrial capacity. That is why I continue to insist 
on overdue steps like the full-year Defense appropriations and national 
security supplemental the Senate passed earlier this year. As I have 
said repeatedly, outcompeting our top strategic adversary, the PRC, 
means projecting American strength far, far beyond the Indo-Pacific.
  Beijing continues to menace Taiwan, the Philippines, and other Asian 
partners, but it is also conducting influence campaigns across the 
developing world and deepening its partnership with Moscow and Tehran.
  Our closest and strongest allies in China's backyard understand this 
reality. Even as Japan deals with Chinese

[[Page S2632]]

maritime incursions and predatory trade practices at home, its leaders 
continue to remind us that the threats to Western prosperity and 
security are all connected.
  Prime Minister Kishida, who will visit Washington this week and 
address a joint session of Congress, said just last week that 
``Russia's aggression against Ukraine . . . shakes the foundation of 
the international order'' and that ``Japan will continue its 
cooperation [with] Ukraine.''
  Critically, our ally's words are backed up by actions. Over the past 
2 years since Putin's escalation, Japan has pledged $12 billion to 
Ukraine's resistance. Prime Minister Kishida's trip to Kyiv last year 
made him the first Japanese leader to visit a conflict zone since World 
War II.
  Just as importantly, Japan's growing investments in its Self-Defense 
Force, including in cutting-edge capabilities like long-range strike--
have made Japan an essential partner in deterring aggression in the 
Indo-Pacific.
  Today, there is still room to work even more closely with committed 
allies like Japan to protect our technology from Chinese theft, 
leverage our advanced industries to improve collective security, and 
build more resilient supply chains.
  More and more, America's allies and partners--like the one we will 
welcome this week--understand both the gravity of the threats we face 
and the links between them. But, if America intends to remain the 
primary guarantor of our own security, we have to lead by example, and 
Congress has an opportunity to do that this week.