Conference Report on H.R. William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021

Floor Speech

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Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the 2021 William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act.

I want to begin by congratulating Chairman Smith and Mr. Thornberry for their persistent teamwork in bringing this bill to fruition. It is the way Congress is supposed to work.

Mr. Speaker, the Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces made a significant mark in this year's bill. Last February, the President's budget, out of nowhere, cut the Navy's shipbuilding budget by 17 percent, including the removal of an entire Virginia-class attack submarine, with no rationale or 30-year shipbuilding plan, as required by law.

Our subcommittee led the way in fully restoring that submarine, having listened to the combatant commanders who have articulated the need for that repeatedly, and adding a fast transport ship, bringing the total new ships in this bill to nine, two more than requested in the Trump budget.

We also focused attention on our domestic sealift fleet. The final bill authorizes half a billion dollars for the Maritime Security Program to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on our domestic sealift fleet and creates a new tanker security fleet aimed at addressing alarming gaps in at-sea logistics.

The bill enhances crucial airlift programs by funding our next- generation refueler, the KC-46A, and rejecting harmful cuts in our refueling fleet.

The final agreement also includes a provision that sets a firm floor in support of more than a dozen State Governors' requests to preserve the C-130 aircraft for the Air National Guard.

Mr. Speaker, this is truly a bipartisan bill that represents the hard work and input of Members on both sides of the aisle.

Thank you to my friend, Ranking Member Rob Wittman, for his amazing friendship and work, and our colleagues on the subcommittee for their hard work in crafting this year's bill.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge a ``yes'' vote today.

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