National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020

Floor Speech

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Ms. SLOTKIN. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the NDAA.

I want to thank Chairman Smith, the entire committee, Members on the other side of the aisle, and staff on the other side of the aisle.

Funding our national defense is and should always be a bipartisan priority. We have created a bill that is strong on defense and stays true to our values as a country. This bill includes important provisions that all Americans can get behind:

It funds our military at the highest levels in history and ensures the readiness of our forces;

It includes a 3.1 percent pay raise for our servicemembers;

It strengthens provisions to combat foreign information operations, protecting us from foreign adversaries that wish us harm;

It enhances our military's resilience to climate change, which poses a growing threat to national security; and

It ensures protections for military families.

As a former Pentagon official, as an Army wife with a stepdaughter serving on Active Duty right now, I firmly believe that we have a solemn responsibility to our men and women to pass a bill that funds our military. Failure to do so, despite concerns about certain provisions, would be an abdication of that responsibility.

This bill also funds priorities that are important to the economies and the safety of our local communities and our districts. I fought hard to include provisions that directly impact my community in Michigan and communities like ours across the country.

The NDAA will reduce PFAS contamination by phasing out the firefighting foam with PFAS chemicals and ask the Pentagon to come up with a plan of action on how they plan to transition and clean up PFAS sites.

This NDAA includes provisions that help States like Michigan capitalize on our unique capabilities in autos, cyber, robotics, and software to help fuel innovation at the Defense Department.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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