[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 120 (Wednesday, July 24, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5329-S5331]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           National Security

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, two or three times lately, I have been 
coming to the floor to have a conversation with my colleagues on the 
subject of national security.
  Remember, all of us, that wars are being waged right now in Gaza, 
Ukraine, Sudan, and I presume elsewhere on this globe. We have 
uncertainty and unrest looming on the horizon in the South China Sea 
and the Horn of Africa.
  There are also serious national security concerns right here in the 
United States. For the last 3 years, our own southern border, hundreds 
of thousands of migrants from around the world have come to America 
without our permission, including people on the Terrorist Watchlist.
  Earlier this month, we celebrated the 75th anniversary of NATO, the 
most successful military alliance in modern history. Winston Churchill 
sowed the

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seeds for the idea of NATO. He did this in the aftermath of the failed 
League of Nations. He delivered his speech called ``Sinews of Peace''--
he did this in America's heartland--a famous speech at a college campus 
in Fulton, MO.
  Churchill spoke of two great dangers that imperil the hearth and home 
of common people. Those two dangers are war and tyranny. In his speech, 
he called for a military coalition to build what he called a ``temple 
of peace'' that would be, as he said in a quote, a ``force for action, 
and not merely a frothing of words.'' That was Churchill's way of 
saying a blueprint for peace that actually worked.
  No European NATO member was invaded post-World War II because of 
NATO. By contrast, the nations that wanted to be very aggressive during 
the Cold War, particularly the Soviet Union, instigated conflicts in 
Asia, Africa, and Latin America, but they didn't mess around with 
Europe. Churchill's words of wisdom, then, stand the test the time.
  I would like to further quote Churchill:

       From what I have seen of our Russian friends and Allies 
     during the war, I am convinced that there is nothing they 
     admire so much as strength, and there is nothing for which 
     they have less respect than for weakness, especially military 
     weakness.

  The fall of the Iron Curtain opened the lane to freedom, symbolizing 
victory over tyranny that we must never take for granted. It is no 
secret that Russian President Vladimir Putin--remember, a former KGB 
officer--wants to resurrect the Soviet Empire from the ash heap of 
history. You can consider Russia's recent timeline of aggression.
  In 2008, Russia invaded the Republic of Georgia. In 2014, Moscow 
annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and occupied parts of eastern 
Ukraine. And then 3 years ago, Putin launched what we now know as a 
full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Appeasement was a key ingredient in 
Putin's recipe for Russian expansion.
  Let's not forget that Russia marked NATO's 75th anniversary--
celebrated here in Washington, DC--by, at that time, launching 40 
missiles into Ukraine, targeting a children's hospital, killing scores 
of innocent civilians. Putin very much has hitched his horse to 
America's foreign adversaries by getting supplies for his war efforts 
from China, Iran, and North Korea--kind of the 21st century axis 
similar to Germany, Italy, and Japan during World War II. Just as 
dangerous for us now as that other axis was dangerous and brought great 
conflict during World War II.

  With global conflicts and terrorist threats in mind, history must 
inform our Nation's path forward. History shows a strong U.S. military 
is an impenetrable instrument of peace. A weakened U.S. military is, 
for sure, an invitation for our foreign adversaries to keep pushing the 
envelope.
  Now, make no mistake, Russia and Russian allies' mission is to do 
whatever it takes to undermine the United States as a leader of the 
free world. We didn't seek that title--being leader of the free world--
but we learned the hard way that allowing dictators to get away with 
aggression eventually threatens American freedom.
  This brings me back then to square one. The core responsibility of 
the Federal Government is national security, and that fundamental 
responsibility begins and ends with a strong national defense. An 
impenetrable U.S. military safeguards America's food security, energy 
security, infrastructure security, and cyber security.
  In a nutshell, the U.S. Armed Forces are the nucleus for peace and 
prosperity at home and abroad. So when the Senate takes up the must-
pass National Defense Authorization Act and the Defense appropriations 
bill, I urge my colleagues to invest in America. Doing so will cement 
our national security interests for generations to come.
  First, we must enhance pay and benefits for members of the military 
and their families. Next, we must restock America's arsenal and boost 
our military preparedness.
  In recent decades, Washington has allowed our Armed Forces to lose 
their wartime footing. When we lose our footing on any one of those 
rungs, know that our enemies are circling the waters to take us down a 
notch.
  My colleague from Mississippi, Senator Wicker, serves as ranking 
member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. I reviewed his plan that 
outlines where the U.S. military most needs defense dollars.
  As it stands, the United States is ill-equipped to meet the emerging 
global threats to our national security. Senator Wicker's blueprint 
would put us back on the right path to secure peace through strength. 
The plan estimates that the annual defense budget needs to grow to 5 
percent of gross domestic product.
  Our defense spending as a share of GDP has been falling and is 
nearing a historic low. Meanwhile, many of our European NATO allies 
have been dramatically increasing defense expenditures because they see 
how dangerous the world has become.
  Another key NATO metric is the percentage of defense funds going 
toward equipment--in other words, warfighting capability. The United 
States is in the bottom of the pack among our NATO allies on this very 
score.
  It is no coincidence that the United States became the leader of the 
free world by leveraging its commitment to peace around the world 
through unassailable military power.
  In the first quarter of the 21st century and a key period in history, 
America stands at the crossroads. We cannot bury our heads in the sand 
when China's spending on defense is on a pace to match our own country. 
And that is according to estimates from our intelligence community.
  To be sure, China is plotting to leapfrog America as the global 
superpower: China leveraging every tool at its disposal, China 
infiltrating our education system, China manipulating data on TikTok, 
China deploying debt-trap diplomacy, and, finally, China unleashing 
military exercises in the Taiwan Straits and even close to Alaska, in 
the Bering Sea.
  We can't afford to ignore what is really obvious: A diminished 
military puts our national security at risk and our troops very much in 
harm's way.
  Today, I call upon my colleagues here in the Congress to stand by our 
duty and our constitutional obligation of national security being the 
No. 1 responsibility of the Federal Government. We must stand shoulder 
to shoulder to meet this moment. In fact, we have a responsibility to 
do so on behalf of our constituents and, more importantly, getting 
future generations protected, and that is a long-term responsibility.
  As Senator Wicker's report details, we must modernize U.S. nuclear 
programs, revive homeland defense sites, and restore the U.S. Navy and 
fleet readiness. And we need to bolster the U.S. Air Force and U.S. 
Space Force, bring Cyber Command up to speed, and provide our 
servicemembers better training, technology, and modernized munitions to 
fulfill their missions.
  There is no time for dillydallying. Right now, our foreign 
adversaries are cobbling alliances to skirt sanctions, undermine 
freedom, and secure their own self-interests.
  In closing, I will finish with three messages. First, we can avoid 
war by anticipating war. Second, preparing for war does not mean 
writing a blank check to the Pentagon. You can be sure that I will 
continue my oversight work to get the most bang for our defense buck. 
Thirdly, we must respond to the writing on the wall. If we allow 
ourselves to be lulled into a false sense of security about our 
military power, historians will write about America's twilight instead 
of an American-led 21st century.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BRAUN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Indiana.
  Mr. BRAUN. Mr. President, I would like unanimous consent to complete 
my remarks.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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