[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 7812-7814]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 MEMORIAL DAY, NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION BILL, AND FOREIGN POLICY

  Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, on a happier note, during this last 
week, we had the occasion to celebrate Memorial Day, a day of 
remembrance. I know many of us had a chance to spend time with true 
American heroes--the veterans, the Active-Duty military members and 
their families--to remember the fallen on Memorial Day.
  I had a particularly delightful occasion this Memorial Day to spend 
time with about 115 high school graduates from across Texas as part of 
a sendoff ceremony as they prepare to head to our Nation's military 
academies. We have been doing this every year for 10 years. As I always 
tell people: If you are a little down, if you are in a bad mood or 
feeling a little depressed, all you need to do is be around these 
wonderful young men and women who are really mature beyond their years 
and who aspire not only to attend our Nation's service academies but to 
be the next generation of military leaders. They truly are the best and 
the brightest.
  It was also great to provide an occasion for these young people and 
their families to be there and hear from inspirational leaders such as 
COL Bruce Crandall, a Medal of Honor winner from the Vietnam war.
  So in remembering this last week the service of so many people in 
defense of our Nation and these young people who I just mentioned on 
Memorial Day and our academy sendoff, it is appropriate that we return 
to the Senate this week to finish the national defense authorization 
bill, legislation that will provide our military men and women with the 
resources they need in order to protect and defend our country.
  This is an absolutely critical piece of legislation and one that 
Congress has

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passed each year for some 50 years-plus. If anyone doubts that, all 
they need to do is ask Chairman McCain because he will remind us every 
chance he gets that this is must-pass-every-year legislation and 
something that has become a tradition--a good tradition--for the 
Senate.
  This bill was passed out of the Armed Services Committee with 
overwhelming bipartisan support. Not a single Democrat voted against 
the legislation, and before Memorial Day, the Senate voted unanimously 
to move this legislation forward--98 yes and 0 no votes.
  Despite this being a clear bipartisan priority, we have been stuck 
and mired down for no real reason, frankly, because of objections from 
the other side of the aisle. The minority leader has chosen to use 
every tactic and every tool available to him to slow this down. 
Frankly, this is not acceptable. The Defense authorization bill 
provides critical resources to our military. It will give our men and 
women in uniform a modest pay raise and support critical training and 
equipment modernization efforts. And it ensures that future generations 
of military leaders have the support they need.
  I don't know what happened at Fort Hood when these nine soldiers 
drowned, but I hope it doesn't have anything to do with their lack of 
adequate training under these circumstances. What we need to do as part 
of our duty in the Senate is to get our work done and to pass the 
Defense authorization bill so there is not even a suspicion or hint of 
lack of adequate training or preparation by our military members that 
leads to tragedy.
  At a time when we face instability at every turn and our military is 
confronting evolving and constant threats, political posturing is not 
appropriate. In fact, it is dangerous. Unfortunately, this is a product 
of misguided foreign policy choices made by this administration over 
the last 8 years. It has put our country and our military at greater 
risk. Our enemies have become emboldened and our allies' confidence has 
been shaken.
  Instead of recognizing the growing threats our military men and women 
face every day, the President tries to diminish them, calling ISIS the 
``JV team.'' This is a terrorist group that continues its reign of 
violence across Iraq and Syria and continues to grow in strength across 
North Africa.
  Words matter. When President Obama and former Secretary of State, 
Secretary Clinton, refused to attribute terrorism to radical Islam, it 
sent a message. And when the Obama administration and its allies ignore 
the reality of the enemy we are facing, our men and women in uniform 
are at greater risk of not having the full resources they need in order 
to defend U.S. interests at home and abroad.
  A few weeks ago, I had the chance to visit with U.S. soldiers in the 
Middle East and to get a good glimpse of the reality on the ground that 
the administration seems to be lacking. I heard firsthand about the 
threats they face every day from ISIS-affiliated groups. That danger is 
growing, not receding.
  There is no doubt in my mind that this growing ISIS presence 
correlates with gaps in our foreign policy under the Obama 
administration. This is particularly clear in Libya, where the Obama 
administration's failure in 2011 left a gaping hole of power--another 
failed state in the Middle East, which, as we have seen before, becomes 
a power vacuum that attracts foreign fighters and other people who want 
to use that to leap into Europe and commit acts of terror, either there 
or in the United States.
  After Secretary Clinton pushed to remove Muammar Qadhafi, she 
prematurely heralded this intervention as her signature achievement as 
Secretary of State. This is something President Obama now admits was a 
mistake. She calls it her signature achievement as Secretary of State.
  Yet the vacuum created by the United States' retreating in the region 
has only led to more chaos, and the ISIS fighters and recruiters have 
quickly filled the space, as I said a moment ago. The Financial Times 
even called it ``a mess no one should think will be resolved by the 
current UN-backed peace process.'' This chaos doesn't just give 
terrorism a foothold; it provides a strategic launch point for 
terrorist attacks, directly across the Mediterranean from Europe.
  In 2011, when the Obama administration, lacking any coherent, long-
term strategy, decided to lead from behind in Libya, I strongly opposed 
that decision. While I can't say the same for others I have served with 
in the Senate, I have been proud to vote against premature troop 
withdrawals from volatile regions, as in Iraq, following the surge, 
which the chairman of the Armed Services Committee and so many others 
said was our one last chance in Iraq. To see us now fighting even as 
trainers and advisers in places such as Fallujah and Ramadi and other 
places where we have lost young lives to liberate--to see those now 
squandered by a premature exit from Iraq due to the administration's 
failure to get a security Status of Forces Agreement is just 
heartbreaking.
  We know so many did oppose the surge, including then-candidate Obama, 
but the fact is, it paid off. Now we see all too clearly the 
consequences of precipitous withdrawal--the squandering of hard-earned 
progress achieved by the surge.
  Of course, Secretary Clinton defended President Obama's decision to 
remove U.S. troops before the region could be stabilized. In fact, when 
asked about the potential threat of civil war in Iraq by exiting too 
early, Secretary Clinton simply said, ``Well, let's find out.'' Well, 
we found out, after all. Foreign policy isn't something we just find 
out about or make up as we go along. It requires thoughtful planning 
and purposeful, intentional action.
  Of course, Syria is another case study of what can happen when the 
White House refuses to act decisively and proactively against our 
adversaries. Unfortunately, when red lines are crossed with no 
consequences and when groups like ISIS aren't treated as the serious 
threat they are, terrorism can make its way onto U.S. soil. Just 
consider the attacks in San Bernardino or the multiple attacks on our 
allies in Europe.
  Unfortunately, as groups such as ISIS are getting stronger, our 
friends around the world are increasingly getting concerned that the 
United States doesn't have their backs. The White House prioritized its 
courtship with Iran, the No. 1 state sponsor of global terrorism, while 
choosing to ignore our friends and allies in the region. Turning its 
back on Israel to give Iran billions of dollars in sanctions relief was 
a hallmark of President Obama's tenure in the Oval Office, and 
Secretary Clinton said that she was proud to play a part in crafting 
that terrible nuclear deal. This simply is not good foreign policy. Why 
should we choose to reward those who have harmed us or threatened us 
while ignoring our oldest and strongest relationships? The result is 
what we would pretty much expect: an Iran that is ascendant in the 
Middle East and growing in belligerence with a nuclear program largely 
intact.
  Our actions do speak louder than words, and right now our friends in 
the Middle East and around the world are losing faith in their 
relationship with the United States. This is simply a product of failed 
foreign policy under the Obama-Clinton leadership. I think it is 
telling that when former President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, was asked 
about President Obama's policies on the world stage, he said, ``I can't 
think of many nations in the world where we have a better relationship 
now than we did when he took over.'' This is President Carter on 
President Obama's foreign relations. He went on to go through a list of 
countries as examples of where, in his words, ``the United States' 
influence and prestige and respect in the world is probably lower now 
than it was six or seven years ago.'' On that point, I agree with 
President Carter. The foreign policy of this administration is nothing 
to be proud of.
  Our job now in the Senate is to reassure our allies that the military 
might of the United States has not fallen by the wayside. One way we 
can do that is by ensuring our military has the resources and funding 
necessary to remain a strong emblem of American

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strength for the rest of the watching world. After delays and 
obstruction from our friends on the other side of the aisle, I hope we 
can finally complete our work this week on the Defense authorization 
bill under the able leadership of Chairman McCain.
  Madam President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arizona.
  Mr. McCAIN. Madam President, I thank the Senator from Texas for his 
very compelling statement.
  Just one example of what the Senator from Texas has referred to is 
the whole issue of Qadhafi. I would remind my colleague from Texas that 
we got rid of Qadhafi without losing a single American and then walked 
away. We walked away from it, and now we see ISIS establishing a strong 
beachhead--a direct failure of leadership of the Obama administration 
and the then-Secretary of State.
  There were many of us, including the Senator from Texas, who said: 
Look, we have to do a lot of things now that you have gotten rid of 
Qadhafi. This country has never known democracy; it has no 
institutions. For example, we could have taken care of their wounded. 
We could have helped them secure their borders. Instead, what did we 
do? We killed Qadhafi--or his own people killed him. But we set up a 
scenario that happened and just walked away--just as we walked away 
from Iraq, just as we are sort of walking away from Afghanistan while 
the Taliban is starting to show success throughout the country. This 
administration is very good at walking away. Unfortunately, the 
consequences are attacks on the United States of America and Europe.
  So I thank the Senator from Texas for his very important statement.

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