National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020--Motion to

Floor Speech

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Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, in virtually every aspect of our lives, technology and innovation have made jobs simpler and made us much more efficient. You can easily track your appointments, hail a ride, or even change the temperature of your house from your smartphone. You can broaden the reach of your small business, use fundraising platforms to raise money for a cause you care about, and easily stay connected with friends and family around the globe. But for all the ways these innovations have made our daily life easier, they have also created an array of security challenges.

We are all familiar with the high-profile hacking targeting customer financial data and personal information. To be sure, it is scary, but nowhere is the threat of this hyperinnovation more terrifying than on the national security front.

The challenges we confront today look different from those 100, 50, or even 5 years ago. We are seeing new technologies used in the battlefield, like drones, and the race to develop next-generation hypersonic missiles. Top military officials, including ADM Gary Roughead, cochair of the Commission on National Defense Strategy, have voiced their concerns about our ability as a nation to confront these rapidly evolving threats. Admiral Roughead told Congress: ``We are operating a force today that was last modernized in the 1980s.''

That is unacceptable. We cannot send our men and women in uniform into battle to defend our freedom at a disadvantage or allow these rapidly changing threats to outpace our ability to respond. Our military should never be fighting next-generation wars with last- generation weapons and equipment.

Of course, the goal is not to have to fight any wars but to maintain the peace through a superior military over any of our potential adversaries. We must continue to invest in military modernization, which is why we need to pass the National Defense Authorization Act, the bill that is presently before the Senate.

This bill invests in cutting-edge technology to protect our military's combat advantage, including to promote 5G networks, the hypersonic weapons that we need to develop to maintain parity--at least, with our adversaries--and artificial intelligence.

It also invests in nuclear weapons modernization, something I spoke about on the floor just this last week. As our adversaries continue to develop the use of their nuclear arsenal, maintaining a safe and strong nuclear deterrent is the key to preventing nuclear war and keeping our adversaries in check.

This year's Defense authorization bill also takes major steps to improve the quality of life for our troops and their families. America's 2.1 million servicemembers have made a commitment that few are willing to make and have joined the ranks of America's heroes who have defended our great country throughout our history.

This bill will provide a modest 3.1 percent pay raise for our troops--the largest increase in a decade. I hope it will also include a provision that I have introduced to support our servicemembers during life after the military.

Occasionally, when veterans fall on hard times, their disability benefits can be counted as income in bankruptcy court. That is not the case for their civilian counterparts with their Social Security disability, and it is unacceptable to me that a civilian with disability benefits would get better treatment in bankruptcy court than a veteran. To fix this issue, I have introduced a bill with Senator Baldwin from Wisconsin, called the Honoring American Veterans in Extreme Need Act, or the HAVEN Act. This bill would shield VA and Department of Defense disability benefits in the same way that Social Security disability is currently exempted.

Veterans should not be penalized fo receiving the disability compensation they have earned, and I hope this provision will be included in the Defense authorization bill, which we should soon be able to vote on.

Passing this bill is not only important to the safety of our Nation, but it is important for global security as well. It supports programs and policies that will strengthen existing alliances and promote new ones.

I am hopeful that the final version of this bill will include a provision I have introduced to enhance our relationship with India. In 2016 the United States designated India as a major defense partner, which seeks to elevate our defense partnership with India to the same level as that of our closest allies.

Since then, we have taken a number of steps to strengthen our defense relationship, such as establishing ministerial dialogue, increasing arms sales to India, and the first U.S.-India tri-service exercise later this year.

As cochair of the Senate India Caucus, I continue to advocate for policies that strengthen our ties with India, both militarily and otherwise. I introduced legislation that requires the Secretary of Defense to submit a report to Congress on U.S.-India defense cooperation in the Western Indian Ocean within 180 days of enactment. This will allow us to get a clearer picture of current military activities and will enable the Secretary to enter into military cooperation agreements and conduct regular joint military training and operations with India in the Western Indian Ocean.

Including this provision in the National Defense Authorization Act would be a major step to bolster U.S.-India ties and strengthen our alliance. It is only fitting for the world's oldest democracy and the world's largest democracy to continue to work more and more closely together.

As we work to counter increasingly sophisticated adversaries around the world, passing the Defense authorization bill this week could not be more important. This legislation is integral to ensuring that our military is resourced and trained and ready for action when called upon.

That is why for more than 50 years, Congress has made passing the Defense authorization bill an annual priority. Funding our men and women in uniform who are fighting and facing unprecedented threats around the world on our behalf is a no-brainer. I look forward to voting to support the NDAA later this week, and I want to thank Chairman Inhofe and the ranking member, Senator Reed, for working to get this bill passed with broad bipartisan support, as well as thank the Senate Armed Services Committee for working to get this bill to this point and bringing it to the floor in a broad, bipartisan way.

This bill provides our military men and women the resources and equipment they need to defend our country and later transition back into civilian life. It restores our combat advantage by promoting military modernization. It strengthens and builds alliances around the globe. Above all, it sends a message to the entire world that our country is and will remain the global military leader.

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