[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 100 (Thursday, June 13, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H3977-H3978]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       ENDURING COMMITMENT TO OUR BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN IN UNIFORM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Pennsylvania (Ms. Houlahan) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to address the House and to revise 
and extend my remarks.
  First, I thank Chair Rogers and Representatives Smith and Bacon for 
the opportunity to work on this really important piece of legislation, 
which is the National Defense Authorization Act.
  Unlike any other piece of legislation that we have passed in 
Congress, we have passed this bill every single year

[[Page H3978]]

for over six decades. It is a testament to our enduring commitment to 
our brave men and women in uniform, and it is proof that Republicans 
and Democrats can indeed continue to find common ground and provide for 
our collective defense.
  Since I arrived in 2019 in Congress, I have had the privilege of 
serving on the Armed Services Committee, which oversees this defense 
bill, and it is truly one of the highlights of my career to serve on 
such a bipartisan committee. This idea of bipartisanship, putting 
country before party, is not new to me. It is indeed how I was raised.

  As the daughter and granddaughter of naval aviators, it is not an 
exaggeration to say that my very earliest memories are on a military 
base. I was born at Patuxent River Naval Air Station just a few hours 
from here. When it was my turn to fulfill our commitment to our Nation, 
I served in the Air Force, but that, of course, did not come without 
challenges.
  Now, as a member of the Armed Services Committee, I have shared not 
only my own challenges and those of my family who have been in uniform, 
but also those of my mother and my grandmother and countless other 
Pennsylvanians and Americans I have been able to talk to along the way. 
Sharing these stories helps make our military the greatest on Earth and 
make it even stronger.
  For nearly a year, I have now had the privilege of serving as ranking 
member on our Military Quality of Life Panel alongside my very dear 
friend, Republican colleague Representative   Don Bacon from Nebraska. 
From inadequate pay to substandard housing conditions and to long wait 
times for essential services, it is very clear that we have enormous 
work to do to ensure that our military families have the support and 
resources that they need to thrive. That is why we proposed 31 
different recommendations, and I will highlight just a few of them.
  First and foremost, pay. We want pay that is competitive with our 
civilian economy, including a significant additional pay raise for 
junior enlisted, E-1 through E-4.
  Second, housing. Our recommendation is to reverse the 5 percent 
reduction in BAH that was passed nearly a decade ago. BAH would now 
cover 100 percent of the calculated rate for military housing.
  In a similar vein, third, we recommended funding facility budget 
requests at 100 percent of the maintenance and modernization 
requirements so that we are able to fully fund them.
  Next and finally, childcare. The bill that we passed out of committee 
would cover childcare expenses for those who worked in our childcare 
development centers for their first child at a minimum. This would get 
more staff on the books, more open and available childcare slots, and 
reduce wait times.
  Finally, on healthcare. Servicemembers won't need referrals any 
longer for physical therapy, for nutrition, for women's health, for 
audiology, for optometry, and podiatry specialties.
  Next, spousal employment. We will be supporting military spouses by 
expanding childcare access for them from 90 to 100 days while they are 
able to look for a job, and we are permanently expanding our 
partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
  We have the greatest military in the world because of the people that 
wear the uniform and the families that support them, so we must take 
care of them. At the very least, we owe our military community a bill 
that is free from political drama and theater.
  Unfortunately, we here on the floor are now seeing some very 
upsetting amendments being offered to a very bipartisan bill and 
potentially adding to this bill many poison pills, poison pills that 
will make it difficult for even me to vote for the final passage of the 
bill, even though there is so much goodness in it.
  Here are just a few ideas of what we will be voting on today:
  Banning Pride flags in workplaces and public areas in the Department 
of Defense.
  This one is particularly absurd: Banning content related to certain 
animals that change their sex, like clown fish, and a range of 
education materials.
  Thirdly, prohibiting the Secretary of Defense from paying or 
reimbursing expenses related to reproductive care, such as abortion 
services.
  Fourth, eliminating any DEI, or diversity, equity, and inclusion, 
within the military and laying off everyone who is in those offices.
  Finally, prohibiting all assistance to Ukraine, which, of course, 
would be a gift to Russia, China, Iran, and all of our adversaries. 
These are just some of the very nonserious efforts that we are seeing 
here on the floor. It is enormously frustrating to see these being 
added to this bill, which was such a bipartisan bill, voted out of 
committee 57-1.
  Regardless of which amendments are passed, these are attacks against 
women, against the LGBTQ community, against diversity initiatives, and 
more. They will have a chilling effect on military recruitment and 
retention at a time when we are facing historic challenges to fill our 
all-volunteer ranks.
  We, the Congress, need to knock this off. I proudly served in 
uniform, as did generations of my family before me, and I will do 
everything in my power to send a truly bipartisan bill to the President 
for signature. I very much look forward to continuing to work with my 
colleagues in the House and Senate to do just that.

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