Relating to Provisions of the Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. REED. Madam President, I rise to speak in support of the revised National Defense Authorization Act conference report we have before us today. It is the result of months of collaborative work by the Senate Armed Services Committee and a very thoughtful conference. I would like to join Chairman McCain and commend Chairman Mac Thornberry of Texas and Ranking Member Adam Smith of Washington. The collaboration, the thoughtfulness, and the consideration were extraordinary and outstanding throughout the conference process.

I have to say that from my point of view, the reason we are here today most fundamentally is the leadership of Chairman McCain on the committee. It was thoughtful, it was bipartisan, and it encouraged participation by all the members of the committee. There was vigorous debate and then there were votes, and that is the way this committee and this Congress should operate.

Ultimately, too, I think it reflected what the Chairman has always brought to his duties as a Member of the U.S. Senate and before that the U.S. House of Representatives and before that the U.S. Navy--understanding that what we do here ultimately reflects and influences and shapes the service and sacrifice of millions of young Americans in uniform. The Chairman never forgets that. He has laid out some of the extraordinary reforms that have been included in this legislation, and he has also indicated that we will continue to work next year under his leadership on additional reforms. These reforms in compensation, personnel policies, and a host of others, are going to set us and our Department of Defense on a better path forward. Again, much of it is because of his leadership and his direction.

Previously, the National Defense Authorization bill came before the Senate and there was one area of major disagreement; that was the use of the overseas contingency operations fund. I must again thank the Chairman because he allowed a vigorous debate, a vote on the floor, and ultimately and very satisfactorily this has been resolved in the recent budget agreement. So now we have legislation before us that raises the annual budget cap of the Department of Defense and other agencies, and it allows our defense to be more forward-looking and more able to rationally budget going forward. I think this has given us both the budget authority and the proper direction so that we can have a much more stable and much more predictable future. Again, I think it will be a wonderful facilitator as we consider additional reforms next year in the Defense Authorization bill.

The budget agreement also recognizes the fact that one of the challenges is not only those programs that are controlled by the Department of Defense but also other agencies that are involved in national security. Relief for those agencies is also important in carrying out the mission of the Department of Defense and protecting the American people.

With this new NDAA, I think we have been able to keep our pledge to the men and women in uniform of the United States.

Let me finally conclude where I began. I thank Chairman McCain, Chairman Thornberry, and Ranking Member Smith, but more particularly the staff. We who have the privilege of serving on the Armed Services Committee understand the extraordinary hours, the effort, the insight, and the total commitment of not only the committee staff members but the staffs of the individual members.

Their efforts are reflected in this bill. It will not bear their names but, more importantly, it will bear their work. For that I thank them very, very much.

Let me urge all of my colleagues to support this bill, to join Senator McCain and others so that for the 54th straight year we will have a National Defense Authorization Act that will become the law of the United States.

Madam President, I yield the floor.

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