National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017
Floor Speech
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Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (H.R. 4909)
Each year, the National Defense Authorization Act provides a framework for our armed forces in the fiscal year ahead. Crafting and considering this legislation is a serious matter, one that has earned strong bipartisan support in the past. This year, House Republicans have instead decided to intentionally violate last year's Bipartisan Budget Act and abdicate this Congress' solemn responsibility to sufficiently fund our troops.
H.R. 4909 takes $18 billion from Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO), the account that pays for our country's fight against ISIS and other important military efforts, in order to fund base budget items that the President and the Department of Defense have not requested. This funding shift breaks the spirit of the Bipartisan Budget Act reached last October and degrades our military's readiness. Furthermore, H.R. 4909 stops authorization for OCO funding next April, long before the fiscal year ends, and places our servicemen and -women squarely in the middle of a partisan budget fight just months into the next president's term. This is reckless and irresponsible, and Congress owes it to our troops to authorize a full year of funding.
H.R. 4909 also includes several disturbing Republican ideological stances that I find highly objectionable. This legislation fails to uphold President Obama's protections for LGBT Americans who work for federal contractors and grantees and allows for discrimination against them. This outrageous partisan rider has absolutely no place in a bill that authorizes the funds necessary for our servicemen and -women to do the jobs they have bravely volunteered to do. Additionally, H.R. 4909 once again includes provisions that prevent President Obama from responsibly closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay, ensuring that the detention center will remain an extremist propaganda tool and a threat to our national security. Now that President Obama has put forward a plan to close the detention center responsibly, Congress should move immediately to enact it. The closure of this facility is long overdue.
House Republicans owe it to our servicemen and -women to put forward legislation free from partisan ideological riders and adequately funds them for a full fiscal year. Unfortunately, H.R. 4909 falls far short of this.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (H.R. 4909).
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