[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 8844-8846]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT

  Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I appreciate the courtesy of the 
Presiding Officer in the Chamber in allowing me to speak this late in 
the day about issues that are vital to our national defense, which will 
be addressed tomorrow and during the course of the week in votes on the 
National Defense Authorization Act.
  The task before the Senate in the National Defense Authorization Act 
is nothing less than to craft a sustainable, long-term strategy to 
defend America. In fact, it is to sustain our global leadership in a 
time of shifting alliances, significant challenges, and emerging 
threats, while bringing a long-term balance and sustainability to our 
military.
  This defense measure is a solid start, but it must be made stronger 
to better meet the needs of our military men and women and our Nation 
as we enter this supremely perilous time. The danger to America has 
never been greater. Our foes have never been more insidious and 
pernicious, and many of the States opposing us have never been more 
willing to take measures that fundamentally contravene not only our 
security but our sense of moral right and wrong.
  I approach the National Defense Authorization Act with this principle 
in mind. Neither the United States nor our troops, nor anyone involved 
in our national defense should ever face a fair fight. Our men and 
women in uniform should never be challenged in the air, on the sea or 
on land with a fair fight. It should be one-sided and in our favor. 
That is the basic principle. We must be superior in our military Armed 
Forces.
  I am grateful to the chairman of our committee, Senator McCain of 
Arizona, an extraordinarily distinguished veteran and a partner in a 
number of amendments to this measure, and to the ranking member Senator 
Jack Reed, also a public servant of extraordinary distinction and a 
veteran. I am grateful for their leadership in bringing

[[Page 8845]]

us to this point on a bill that attracted bipartisan support--
overwhelming support--on the Armed Services Committee, where I am 
privileged to serve.
  The provisions in this bill will enable us to remain the strongest 
country militarily in the world. At the end of the day, our values, our 
way of life, and our democracy give us our real strength, but the 
military is necessary to defend those values and our quality and way of 
life. The military defends our values and traditions and our 
fundamental rights and liberties, which we worked hard last week to 
uphold in the USA FREEDOM Act.
  I have filed a number of amendments that underscore the need for 
continuing improvement in this bill. They are forward-looking 
amendments. One of them would modernize the National Guard's helicopter 
fleet by providing vital capabilities for the military as well as the 
sustainability and growth for Connecticut's dedicated defense industry.
  To protect our heroes in uniform, I have also proposed an amendment 
that would provide stronger legal tools against predatory lending and 
other abuses targeting our military men and women nearby the very bases 
they are stationed.
  Mr. President, I refer my colleagues to these two amendments, Nos. 
1820 and 1564.
  I also joined Ranking Member Reed in cosponsoring his amendment, 
which will set forth a responsible and sustainable budget strategy by 
ending sequestration in our military budget and allowing us to ensure 
that all of our Nation's key security priorities are addressed.
  Tomorrow, this body will vote on that amendment. It is a critical 
vote. It allows us to choose sides as to whether we will put close to 
$40 billion, in effect, on our national debt rather than in our budget 
or on our credit card rather than find a sustainable means to pay for 
it. Each of us will have to decide whether we want to end 
sequestration, which I am committed to ending, or instead whether we 
will continue sequestration-and the very real harm it imposes on our 
nation-by putting an extra $40 billion in the overseas contingent 
operations account known as OCO. Sequestration cannot be allowed to 
become a permanent fixture. We must work together in a bipartisan 
manner to end it.
  In my time in the U.S. Senate, I have fought for our national defense 
funding because I believe our troops in harm's way deserve our full, 
uncompromising, unyielding, and unstinting support. We owe them the 
best equipment, the best training and supplies, as well as the best 
institutional support and health care that the world has to offer 
because they are the best fighting force that our world has ever seen. 
They fight for a nation that is the best, strongest, and greatest in 
the history of the world--not only in its military strength but in its 
fundamental values and freedom that allow us to speak as we wish in 
this very Chamber, to criticize authority, to speak truth to those in 
power, to debate, to come together, as we did this past weekend to 
worship and gather together and say whatever we please and think as we 
wish.
  I hope we will address this vital interest in making sure we provide 
a sustainable source of funding by ending sequestration rather than 
relying on the overseas contingency operation account, which is a form 
of borrowing. It increases the deficit; it doesn't reduce it. It 
diminishes stable and sustainable funding; it doesn't enhance it. It 
simply provides more uncertainty rather than a long-term strategy.
  This measure, which I support, enhances our security by providing for 
the construction of Virginia-class submarines--that are necessary. In 
fact, the NDAA provides $800 million in additional funding over what 
the President requested, and it endorses equipping all future attack 
submarines within an enhanced payload capability.
  Naval warfare, and particularly undersea warfare, is as relevant and 
important now as it ever was, and these submarines will do much to 
enhance our readiness, our nuclear deterrence, our special operations, 
and our surveillance. They are the stealthiest, strongest weapons 
platform under the sea ever known to man. Likewise, the research and 
development in the Ohio replacement program will continue to go 
forward.
  The bill provides for $1 billion for six additional Joint Strike 
Fighter aircraft for the Marine Corps--this is profoundly significant--
as well as $17 million in new military construction for the Connecticut 
National Guard.
  There are other measures, but apart from the hard work is an 
important step for fairness and keeping faith and dealing fairly with 
our men and women in uniform. This legislation provides for a 1.3 
percent pay raise and $85 million to be directed toward improving 
financial literacy among our servicemembers. That is really the very 
least we can do.
  Our military men and women do not do this for the pay or the 
financial compensation, but for their families' sake, we need to deal 
with them fairly and keep faith with them. In my role as ranking member 
of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, I have paid special attention to 
ensuring that this bill helps to ease the transition of military 
personnel into civilian life by establishing a new ``Record of 
Service'' card upon their separation that will help prevent identity 
theft and financial fraud. I urge the DOD, as does the Armed Services 
Committee, to discontinue its use of Social Security numbers on 
military records. It will help prevent identity theft and the kinds of 
breaches that put our servicemen and their families at risk 
financially, just as they are often at risk physically in combat.
  The bill also directs DOD to stem the tide of opioid prescription 
drug abuse, and it helps military retirees get smoking cessation 
assistance. I would go further and provide for stronger measures to 
deal with over-prescription through education programs and drug 
formularies that provide alternatives, and that is one of the 
amendments I will offer.
  Finally, two principal amendments I propose are an amendment to 
provide additional helicopters for the Army National Guard, which I 
will speak on now and seek to make pending at a later point, and an 
amendment improving consumer protections for military personnel and 
their families, which is currently pending.
  First, we can greatly strengthen this bill by making a commitment to 
our National Guard to provide additional helicopters. The UH-60 Black 
Hawk helicopter is one of the most versatile and heavily used aviation 
capabilities in the Army National Guard, as well as by all the states 
in which they serve. The UH-60A is the oldest model Black Hawk in 
service and is currently flown almost exclusively by the Army National 
Guard.
  We can strengthen this bill by fulfilling our commitment to the 
National Guard in providing 15 additional UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters 
that are the workhorse of our warriors who serve in our National Guard, 
warriors who have distinguished themselves not only in combat but also 
in emergencies and disasters at home. These helicopters will help them 
serve at home and abroad, which is one of the reasons that acquiring 
more of these helicopters, M model Black Hawks, are one of the 
priorities of the National Guard Association.
  I have listened to the National Guard leaders in Connecticut, and I 
have listened to distinguished warriors and veterans of the National 
Guard from around the country, and I know these UH-60 Black Hawks are 
the workhorses. They are important in medium-lift capability to the 
National Guard in support of homeland defense and response to 
emergencies. The UH-60A models now lack onboard capabilities--modern 
capabilities that would enable them to be deployed overseas in hostile 
environments without significant upgrades to others parts of their 
configuration. They need that upgrade to be configured properly. The 
new aircraft would flow to states all across the country and ensure the 
National Guard is ready to deploy both at home and abroad.
  Under the Army's current budget projections, the Army National Guard 
will not replace their aging UH-60A Black Hawk helicopters until 2025. 
We

[[Page 8846]]

need to do better, we need to do it more promptly, and that is why I am 
proposing amendment No. 1820.
  The amendment is fully paid for by an offset from the Foreign 
Currency Fund. The upside of a strengthening American dollar is that 
the Army can put more funds towards buying American helicopters and 
spend less in foreign currency expenses.
  The other principal amendment, which I have made pending to the bill, 
improves the consumer protections afforded to our servicemembers and 
their families by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. On the 
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, penalties, quite bluntly, are too low, 
and that is why I wish to thank my colleagues Ranking Member Reed as 
well as Senators Durbin, Murray, and Whitehouse, all of whom have been 
working tirelessly and have joined me in proposing stronger protections 
in the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act by doubling the penalties and 
making them as high as $110,000 for a first violation and $220,000 for 
a second or subsequent violation. This legislation provides deterrents, 
punishment, and a stop to this kind of financial abuse that may take 
place, literally, within sight of military bases.
  Recently, the Department of Justice used this authority to obtain a 
civil penalty against Capital One and Sallie Mae. We have seen 
financial abuse by Capital One, when it foreclosed improperly on 
servicemembers' homes. These practices can include these kinds of 
abuses involving foreclosure and other kinds of exploitation which 
Sallie Mae, unfortunately, engaged in. ``Federal law protects our 
servicemembers from having to repay loans under terms that are 
unaffordable or unfair.'' Student lender Sallie Mae sidestepped 
requirements by charging excessive rates to borrowers who filed 
documents proving they were members of the U.S. military. For over a 
decade Sallie Mae violated SCRA by failing to provide over 60,000 
military servicemembers with the 6 percent interest rate cap they were 
entitled to on their student loans. This type of conduct is more than 
just inappropriate, it is inexcusable, and it will not be tolerated.
  In addition, my colleagues have been working to make other important 
improvements to the SCRA. For example, Senator Reed has worked 
tirelessly to ensure servicemembers can terminate leases on rental 
properties without early termination fees if they are assigned to, or 
relocate to, government quarters. Senator Whitehouse has sought to make 
permanent a one-year post service protection from foreclosure for 
returning servicemembers and Senator Durbin has been fighting to make 
sure our servicemembers with student loan debt can take advantage of 
the protections of the SCRA. I appreciate my colleagues tireless 
advocacy and look forward to working together to advance these 
important provisions.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in voting for Senator Reed's amendment 
tomorrow. We face critical decisions ahead. This measure has 
extraordinary merit. We must keep faith with those who serve, and I 
hope we will when we vote this week on the National Defense 
Authorization Act.
  I thank the Presiding Officer.
  I yield the floor.

                          ____________________