National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016--Conference Report

Floor Speech

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Mr. DAINES. Mr. President, Montana has a rich legacy of service to our country. From maintaining our Nation's peace-through-strength strategy at Montana's Malmstrom Air Force Base, where we oversee one-third of our Nation's intercontinental ballistic missiles, to our Army and Air National Guard members' work to support our communities in times of emergency and respond to calls for deployment overseas, Montana is playing a critical role in meeting our Nation's security and military needs. Montanans know firsthand the importance of supporting our men and women in uniform.

The National Defense Authorization Act is critical to ensuring servicemembers have the funding and support they need to fulfill their missions. The NDAA prioritizes the needs of our servicemembers, while protecting the important role that Montana holds in our national defense. The passage of this legislation is critical to carrying out our missions in an increasingly dangerous world.

In fact, earlier this year former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee. He described the perilous state of our global security: ``The United States has not faced a more diverse and complex array of crises since the end of the Second World War.''

The threats we face from Syria, Russia, China, and ISIS are too serious for our troops to lack the resources they need to protect and defend our Nation from foreign threats. Yet the leader of our troops, our Commander in Chief, has threatened to veto the bipartisan NDAA, which would fund our military priorities at the levels he requested. This is the same foreign policy agenda that has become the hallmark of President Obama's now famous ``lead from behind'' strategy.

Even former Democratic President Jimmy Carter agrees. In fact, earlier this summer, President Carter was asked whether he thought President Obama's foreign policy was a success or failure on the world stage. Here is what President Carter replied: ``I can't think of many nations in the world where we have a better relationship now than we did when he took over.''

President Carter then continued: ``I would say that the United States' influence and prestige and respect in the world is probably lower now than it was 6 or 7 years ago.''

This weekend the Washington Post's editorial board criticized President Obama for holding our troops ransom for his domestic policy agenda. That editorial said this:

American Presidents rarely veto national defense authorization bills, since they are, well, vital to national security. ..... Refusing to sign this bill would make history, but not in a good way.

It is a mistake for President Obama to use our troops for leverage. Our troops deserve better. The NDAA seeks to provide our troops with the support they deserve. It fully authorizes spending on defense programs at the President's budget request level of $612 billion for fiscal year 2016. It authorizes $75 million for the Southern Border Security Initiative to help address challenges facing the U.S.-Mexican border. It supports servicemembers beyond their years of sacrifice to our Nation by extending retirement benefits to the vast majority of servicemembers left out of the current system. It includes a provision that mirrors my legislation, which I introduced, called the Securing Military Personnel Response Firearm Initiative Act, or SEMPER FI Act, which empowers a member of the Armed Forces to carry appropriate firearms, including personal firearms, at DOD installations, reserve centers, and recruiting centers.

Additionally, this bill provides much-needed support for Montana's military missions. There is $19.7 million for the Tactical Response Force Alert Facility at Malmstrom Air Force Base. There is $4.26 million for an energy conservation project at Malmstrom. It authorizes funding for Avionics Modernization Program Increments 1 and 2 to ensure that our C-130s can stay in the air. It authorizes funding for C-130 engine modifications. It expresses the sense of Congress that the nuclear triad plays a critical role in ensuring our national security and that it is the policy of the United States to operate, sustain, and modernize or replace the triad and to operate and modernize or replace a capability to forward-deploy nuclear weapons and dual-capable fighter bomber aircraft.

The heroes of our Nation serve our country selflessly day in and day out, and they don't deserve partisan politics. It is unfortunate that critical appropriations for our military and veterans were blocked in recent weeks. Today's vote shows there is overwhelming bipartisan support to fund our troops. Given this, it is senseless that partisan politics continue to block funding for our troops.

I urge our Democratic Senators to put politics aside. Let's do what is right. Join me in supporting the Department of Defense appropriations bill. Our heroes deserve our utmost respect and the security to carry out their missions without threats--without threats from our Commander in Chief. Congress has a constitutional duty to provide for the funding of our troops. This body needs to uphold that responsibility. Let's do what is right. Let's pass the National Defense Authorization Act.

I yield back my time.

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