[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 102 (Monday, June 17, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4102-S4103]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           National Security

  Madam President, now, this brings me to the purpose of my comments 
today. Over the next few months, I will be drilling down on the issue 
of America's military readiness. I have grave concerns that the U.S. 
military has too many chinks in its armor. For the first time in 
decades, the invincibility of the U.S. military is questionable, which 
compromises the safety and security of 330 million Americans.
  Scaling back resources for the U.S. military, year after year, 
undermines morale, weakens troop preparedness, and sends a dangerous 
signal to America's allies, as well as our adversaries.

[[Page S4103]]

  Now, none of us, including this Senator, need a crystal ball to see 
what is on the horizon if the United States of America allows our 
military to wither on the vine. Unless Washington turns things around, 
the slippery slope that we are on will trigger an avalanche of no 
return. The U.S. military can't afford to play second fiddle to anybody 
or any country anywhere.
  Our adversaries around the world take great delight when defense 
hawks clash here in the Congress with those who want to slash Pentagon 
spending to spend more on social programs. The ``guns and butter'' 
debate takes place every year when appropriators open and close the 
public purse.
  A recent Gallup poll gauging the public's pulse on the U.S. military 
surprised me. I hope it surprised a lot of my colleagues. While I have 
long known Congress doesn't earn high approval rates from the public, I 
didn't expect public confidence in the military to slide to a level not 
seen since the threat to U.S. power during the Cold War. It dipped down 
to 60 percent in 2023, compared to a record high of 85 percent 
following the Gulf war, in 1991, and rising again after the attack in 
New York on 9/11.
  Just 2 weeks ago, on Memorial Day, communities across Iowa and 
nationwide honored fallen hometown heroes. These are the beloved sons 
and daughters who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our 
country, leaving their dreams and grieving Gold Star families behind. 
Throughout American history, tens of millions of American patriots have 
put their lives on the line to protect U.S. national security, defend 
our allies, and fight tyranny and terror from distant shores.
  Since my first term in the U.S. Senate, I have worked hard to 
advocate for strengthening combat readiness and to ensure our troops 
have what they need to do their jobs. As a Pentagon watchdog, my 
efforts to root out waste, fraud, and abuse are rooted in one 
fundamental principle. That principle is the top priority of the 
Federal Government is national security, period.
  The phrase ``peace through strength'' has become known as a Reagan 
doctrine and was espoused by my good friend from Russell, KS, Senator 
Dole. This philosophy aligns with my crusade to fix the fiscal mess 
that undercuts the Department of Defense and undermines the morale of 
our troops. Every dollar lost to fraud is one less dollar for military 
readiness.
  However, my bipartisan work on this issue shows that I am not for 
writing the Pentagon a blank check. Protecting taxpayer dollars and 
boosting military readiness aren't mutually exclusive.
  On January 8, 1790, in his first annual address to Congress, 
President George Washington said that ``to be prepared for war is one 
of the most effectual [ways] of preserving peace.''
  Our Nation's 40th President continued President Washington's legacy 
at the nominating convention 44 years ago in Detroit. Ronald Reagan 
said this:

       We know only too well that war comes not when the forces of 
     freedom are strong, but when they are weak. It is then that 
     tyrants are tempted.

  During his 8 years in the White House, President Reagan modernized 
the U.S. Armed Forces. The U.S. Army grew by two active divisions, and 
the United States developed new weapons systems to thwart nuclear 
attacks.
  Reagan stared down the ``Evil Empire.'' Those are his words as he 
referred to the U.S.S.R. and ended the Cold War. The Reagan doctrine 
taught us really what works.
  On the other hand, the appeasement of Presidents Obama and Biden have 
only incentivized our adversaries to take another inch. Think of the 
uncertainty that we have today, which arguably stem from the Obama 
administration airlifting pallets of cash to Iran, followed by the 
Biden administration lifting sanctions.
  Given their public action, I wasn't too surprised when FBI 
whistleblowers recently came to me with records showing just how easy 
on Iran the Obama-Biden administration really was. Their own Secretary 
of State, John Kerry, actively worked to prevent dangerous Iranians 
from being arrested in order to protect this reckless negotiation that 
ended up being the Iran nuclear deal.
  It has never been a secret that Iran uses its wealth to underwrite 
terrorism in the hopes of wiping Israel off the map, and they also have 
a target on the United States.
  To give another example, think of the uncertainty in Eastern Europe 
when Putin annexed Crimea in 2014. The world blinked. Now, he is waging 
war in Ukraine and itching to knock down the doors of the liberated 
Baltic States, Poland, and elsewhere to resurrect the old Soviet Union.
  I want to remind my colleagues and the American people what the 
Russian President said in 2005 during his annual state of the nation 
message. Can you believe this? He called the collapse of the Soviet 
empire the ``greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.''
  Something else Ronald Reagan said rings as true today as it did 40 
years ago. He declared the Soviets ``must be made to understand we will 
never compromise our principles and standards [nor] ignore the facts of 
history and the aggressive impulses of an evil empire. To do so would 
mean abandoning the struggle between right and wrong and good and 
evil.''
  Eighty years after D-Day, our Nation is at a crossroads. As we look 
ahead toward our Nation's 250th anniversary in 2026, America can't 
afford to blink.
  I never imagined the lessons of the Holocaust would be questioned on 
the U.S. college campuses, particularly after the unprovoked atrocities 
and murders of innocent civilians on October 7 last year by Hamas. I 
never imaged isolationism would fuel Putin's brazen efforts to restore 
the old Soviet Union.
  And let's not forget, President Xi has made no bones about his 
mission to usurp America's global leadership. American leadership has 
created the conditions for countries to pursue independence, self-
determination, and freedom.
  In contrast, President Xi seeks to expand China's global footprint 
through his sinister Belt and Road Initiative, debt-trap diplomacy, and 
outright military bullying. All of these tactics aim to export the 
Chinese Communist Party's model of state control over citizens' lives 
and exert a neo-imperial domination over countries all around the 
globe.
  With intention, the communist Chinese Government silenced the 35th 
anniversary of the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 
Beijing's Tiananmen Square. Communist leaders have all but scrubbed the 
murder of protestors by armed police and 180,000 troops from Chinese 
public memory.
  Let there be no mistake, authoritarianism regimes use any means 
necessary to censor free speech, snuff out economic freedom, and pursue 
and persecute religious freedom.
  When Putin and Xi talk about a multipolar world, they mean a world in 
which they can dominate smaller countries against that country's 
citizens' will.
  In another speech, I will shine a light on religious persecution 
happening against groups like the Uighurs and other Muslim minorities, 
Tibetan Buddhists, and Christians in China, as well as Crimean Tatar 
Muslims, and Evangelical Christians in Ukraine.
  Our Constitution guarantees freedom of speech, religion, press, 
assembly, and the right to peaceably petition the government.
  As we look forward to our Independence Day, I encourage all Americans 
to recognize and appreciate these freedoms. And if Americans want to 
guarantee these freedoms, peace and prosperity for generations to come, 
we cannot blink in our commitment to promoting peace through strength. 
If America doesn't lead, our allies won't follow and our enemies will 
no longer fear us.
  I will close with one more piece of sage advice from President 
Reagan:

       If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be 
     great.

  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The Senator from Texas.