[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 212 (Tuesday, December 16, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8749-S8750]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
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NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2026
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will
resume consideration of the motion to concur in the House amendment to
S. 1071, which the clerk will report.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read the following:
House message to accompany S. 1071, a bill to require the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs to disinter the remains of
Fernando V. Cota from Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery,
Texas, and for other purposes.
Pending:
Thune motion to concur in the amendment of the House to the
bill.
Thune motion to concur in the amendment of the House to the
bill, with Thune amendment No. 3961 (to the House amendment
to the bill), to change the enactment date.
Thune amendment No. 3962 (to amendment No. 3961), to change
the enactment date.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The President pro tempore.
Ukraine
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I understand that representatives of the
Russian Orthodox Church are on Capitol Hill this week falsely claiming
persecution by the Ukrainian Government. This is because of a law
requiring churches in Ukraine to stop taking directions from the
patriarch in Moscow, who was a KGB agent and reports directly to
Vladimir Putin.
Two years ago, I met with Ukrainian faith leaders in my office--about
30 of them--from many backgrounds, including Orthodox, Catholic,
Evangelical, Jewish, and Muslim. They told me everyone in Ukraine can
freely practice their religion, but in occupied Ukraine, Russians have
turned churches into a secular, Russian Ministry of Culture. They have
also tortured pastors, and the faithful are forced to worship in
secret. That is what I heard from religious leaders of Ukraine 2 years
ago.
In September, I highlighted a report by the Free Russian Foundation
titled ``The Russian Orthodox Church and the War.'' That report showed
how this body supports the invasion of Ukraine through propaganda,
rituals for invaders, diplomatic manipulation, and espionage.
The Atlantic Council hosted an event about the Free Russia report
featuring a discussion with Orthodox priests titled ``How the Russian
Orthodox Church supports the Kremlin's war against Ukraine.'' You can
view it online.
It is no wonder that only between 4 to 8 percent of Orthodox
Ukrainians still identify with the Moscow church. The overwhelming
majority of Orthodox Ukrainians identify with the Orthodox Church of
Ukraine, which is recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarch of
Constantinople, the First Among Equals in the Orthodox tradition.
The Ecumenical Patriarch is also head of the largest Orthodox Church
in the United States, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. So we
should listen to what he said in response to the Russian Patriarch
blessing the war and claiming that Russian soldiers who die invading
Ukraine will have their sins washed away.
His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew said this:
It is damaging to the prestige of the whole of Orthodoxy,
because Orthodoxy doesn't support war, violence, terrorism.
Do not believe anyone who claims the Russian Orthodox Church is
somehow a victim of religious persecution in this war in Ukraine that
was started when Russia invaded in February 2022. The Russian Orthodox
Church is a leading perpetrator of the persecution of fellow Orthodox
believers, as well as Catholics, Evangelicals, and others.
You can learn about real religious persecution in the occupied parts
of Ukraine at russiatortureschristians.org, and you can watch the
documentary ``A Faith Under Siege'' on YouTube.
I yield the floor.
Recognition of the Majority Leader
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader is recognized.
National Defense Authorization Act
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, this week, the Senate will be taking up the
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026. For the 65th
consecutive year, the NDAA is the product of a
[[Page S8750]]
bipartisan process in both Chambers. This bill reflects the input,
expertise, and tireless efforts of many of our colleagues, and I am
especially grateful for the work of our colleagues on the Armed
Services Committee and for the leadership of Chairman Wicker on this
year's bill.
This annual Defense bill is critical to ensuring the U.S. military is
prepared for any threat we face--and not just the threats that may come
in the next year. It is about putting us on a path that will ensure our
military can deter and, if necessary, defeat any threat that may arise
in the future.
Unfortunately, this long view has not always prevailed, and we have
continued to see the consequences of underinvestment in our military.
In the last few years, we have had repeated reminders that the world
remains a dangerous place, that there are evil people in the world bent
on aggression, and that there are those who wish America and our allies
harm.
Sadly, that was clear this weekend. My prayers today are with the
families of the three Americans--two soldiers and an interpreter--who
were killed in Syria on Saturday in an apparent ISIS attack.
The surest way of securing peace and keeping it is through restraint.
It is a long-held tenet of American national security, and it is a view
that the American people widely share.
Republicans have made it a priority to restore peace through
strength, and we know we have no time to waste. That is why we made a
generational investment in our Armed Forces in the One Big Beautiful
Bill this summer. The NDAA before us this week builds on that important
work.
It aims to grow our Navy fleet to deliver more ships capable of
deploying American power anywhere in the world and help narrow the gap
between China's shipbuilding and our own.
It supports the construction of the Golden Dome missile defense
system to keep our country safe from missile, drone, or other airborne
attacks.
It proposes to ramp up munitions production and to ensure that we
have sufficient munitions for whatever may come our way--with the added
benefit of helping to revitalize the industrial base and support
industries in South Dakota and across the country.
Then there is our airpower. The National Defense Authorization Act
supports delivery of next-generation aircraft. That includes the B-21
Raider, the sixth-generation stealth bomber that will soon be making
its home at South Dakota's Ellsworth Air Force Base.
I am proud that this bill fully authorizes the B-21 Program and
procurement of these aircraft, which will be the backbone of our future
bomber force, as well as the military construction efforts underway at
Ellsworth to support this new mission.
Investing in weapons and technology is important, but strengthening
our military also means supporting the men and women who wear the
uniform, and this bill has their back. For one, it authorizes the first
increase in Active-Duty end strength in several years. It will help
ensure that we can sustain the record recruitment levels that we have
seen this year. It also supports critical investments in servicemember
quality of life. That includes a 3.8-percent pay raise for our troops.
It includes investments in on-base housing, education opportunities,
childcare, and other support for military members and their families.
This bill will help rebuild our military, but what makes this year's
National Defense Authorization Act exceptional is not how it rebuilds
but how it reforms.
Thanks to Chairman Wicker's leadership, this NDAA will make the most
significant reforms to the way the Pentagon does business in a
generation. It takes dozens of burdensome rules and laws off the books,
streamlines the buying and innovation processes, and ensures more
American businesses will be able to contribute to America's arsenal,
including small businesses and startups.
This bill will harness the full strength of American innovation to
get American's men and women in uniform the very best capabilities our
country has to offer--and not just get it to them but get it to them
faster and at a lower cost to the taxpayer.
These reforms will make our military stronger, more agile, and more
ready for whatever the mission may be. And that needs to be our mission
here, to do whatever it takes to support American soldiers, sailors,
airmen, marines, and guardians.
We ask a lot of the brave Americans serving in uniform and they give
a lot and I am proud that this year's National Defense Authorization
Act will help ensure that they have what they need to keep America safe
in a dangerous world.
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. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Recognition of the Minority Leader
The Democratic leader is recognized.
Trump Administration
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, this morning, the American people got
more proof that Donald Trump's policies are a disaster to them. This
morning's jobs report shows the unemployment rate rose to 4.6 percent
in November. That is the highest level since 2021, the highest level in
4 years under Donald Trump's leadership--or lack thereof, more
appropriately.
This is what Donald Trump's so-called golden age looks like in all
its ugly glory: higher costs, more tariffs, and the highest
unemployment rate since COVID. And make no mistake, this unemployment
number didn't just come out of the blue. It didn't just come because of
external forces. This high, awful unemployment number--the highest
since COVID--is a consequence of Donald Trump's failures, his reckless
tariff agenda, his draconian cuts to basic services like healthcare,
and his refusal to listen to Americans who are already struggling to
pay for what they need.
Donald Trump can try and spin these job numbers all he wants. That is
his nature. That is what he does. He doesn't care about the truth. He
just cares about his own ego. But Americans aren't buying his fantasy.
They are fed up with his agenda, and the damage is beginning to set in.
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