William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021--Veto Message From the President of the United States

Floor Speech

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Mr. SMITH of Washington. Madam Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Thornberry), the ranking member of the committee, pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. General Leave

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Mr. SMITH of Washington. 6395.

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Mr. SMITH of Washington. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. SMITH of Washington. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise to strongly urge Members to uphold what we did in this Chamber just a couple weeks ago and what the Senate did, as well; and that is we passed an overwhelmingly bipartisan bill, with roughly 80 percent of the vote in both the Senate and the House.

The legislative branch made it absolutely clear that we support this piece of legislation, and as the gentleman from Texas just noted, we support it with very good reason.

It is enormously important to give our troops the support that they need to carry out the job that we all are asking them to do. That is, I think, one of our minimum obligations as Members of Congress. And this bill reflects that.

This bill is the process of a lengthy effort involving Members of both Chambers, both parties, that have come together and put together an incredibly strong piece of legislation. That is why it passed so overwhelmingly just a couple weeks ago. And nothing has changed. Nothing has changed. The bill is exactly the same and every little bit as important.

Now, the President has the right to veto it, but I think we, as Members of the legislative body, have to look at the reason behind that. Was it because of something in the bill?

Pieces of legislation come through here all the time, and we occasionally miss something. The President finds out, and we say: Gosh, I didn't know that. That is not what happened here.

I really want Members to understand the President vetoed this because of something that isn't in the bill and was never going to be in the bill, something totally unrelated to national security and something that we were not going to do in any event.

There is literally no reason to veto this bill for the reasons that the President did and certainly no reason for us not to uphold what we did in passing this bill. This is really important that we exercise our legislative prerogative.

There are all kinds of crucial provisions in this bill, but I will just point to one, and that is the one that Mr. Thornberry mentioned earlier, to give you an idea of why it is important that the legislative branch do its job in exercising oversight of the Department of Defense in providing national security policy, and that is the cyber issue.

Thanks to the leadership of Chairman Langevin, chairman of the subcommittee that deals with this issue, and Ranking Member Stefanik, they have worked together to really put together an incredible package to try to better address these very cyber issues that we are now facing. That is what we do in this legislation, and it is not always exciting, but it is incredibly important to meet our obligation to our troops and to the national security of this country.

It is enormously important that we pass this bill. We did it once. Let's just do it one more time, and then we can all go home for the year. We can be done, and we can be proud of what we have accomplished.

I urge Members to vote in favor of this bill to do what we did just a couple weeks ago. Show the country that the legislative branch can still do its job.

I will close on one note, which we make a lot of times.

This is the most bipartisan committee in Congress. That is not an easy thing to achieve. We have a lot of things that we passionately disagree about in this body, and we should, but on the Armed Services bill, we manage to come together. It is not always easy, but we get it done.

I think it is enormously important that we let the country know that that process hasn't died. We put together a product, a bipartisan, bicameral product that has gotten an overwhelming number of votes.

Let's show the American public that the legislative process works at least a little bit better than sometimes they think it does, that we can get our job done and, in this case, get our job done for the men and women who put their lives on the line to protect this country. We owe them nothing less than that.

Madam Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, as a senior member of the Committees on the Judiciary, on Homeland Security, and on the Budget, I rise in strong opposition to the Administration's seemingly callous veto of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 and proudly announce my intention to vote to override this reckless veto.

I take this action because I disagree with the President that preserving monuments and memorials and naming military installations for the defenders of slavery who took up arms against the United States to achieve their aims is more important and a higher priority than providing the funding, resources, and support to the nation's military and civilian defense person, one of the nation's most respected institutions and its most diverse and representative.

Other than his pique at being on the short end of what is by his own account an Electoral College landslide and being routed by seven million votes in his failed bid for reelection, there is absolutely no basis for the erstwhile Commander-in-Chief to veto the bipartisan NDAA and deny our servicemembers a long-overdue pay raise and hazard duty pay many of whom live in or are from my congressional district.

It is cruel, shameful, and heartless for a Commander-in-Chief to deny to more than 100,000 federal employees the paid family leave child care, housing and health protections authorized by the FY2021 NDAA or to withhold from our veterans the benefits that they need and deserve.

The FY2021 NDAA Conference Report, negotiated under the careful stewardship of Chairman Adam Smith of Washington and Ranking Member Mac Thornberry in the House and Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman James Inhofe of Oklahoma and Ranking Member Jack Reed of Rhode Island is carefully crafted, exemplary legislation reflecting the nation's sacred commitment to those who willingly risk their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor to keep our nation safe and preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution.

The FY21 NDAA provides a long-sought after benefit for tens of thousands of Vietnam-era veterans who are struggling with certain health complications after being exposed to Agent Orange while serving their country.

In addition, the legislation authorizes $8.4 billion in military construction projects to fortify critical infrastructure and base realignment and closure clean up, it contains important new tools to deter adversaries China and Russia from attacking or threatening our national interests; and mandates reforms to make the Pentagon more efficient, innovative, and cost-effective.

In the legislation there are significant bipartisan provisions to strengthen our posture on artificial intelligence and cybersecurity and to fortify our alliance with NATO and our security relationship with Israel.

With the passage of the FY2021 NDAA, expectant mothers in the military could receive free loaner maternity uniforms because the legislation directs the Department of Defense to conduct a pilot program to issue maternity uniforms and related items to pregnant military members on a temporary and as-needed basis.

Madam Speaker, this is important because women make up about 21 percent of the Air Force; 20.2 percent of the Navy; 15.4 percent of the Army; and 9 percent of the Marine Corps.

Also, the FY2021 NDAA makes needed reforms to prevent sexual assault, a matter of great importance to the public and my colleagues, particularly those of us from Texas, where Fort Hood is located and where Army Specialist Vanessa Guillen was murdered to prevent her from reporting the sexual harassment and abuse she suffered from her direct superior in the chain of command.

I am very grateful to Congressman Brown of Maryland, himself a veteran of the Armed Services, for his leadership in ensuring the NDAA authorize and approve the renaming of military bases currently named for persons who took up arms for the Confederacy and against the United States.

I am very pleased that included in the legislation is my language directing the consideration be given to distinguished and heroic African-American and Native American servicemembers in the renaming of military bases.

Removing the stain of bases and military installations being name for confederate traitors is an act of profound reconciliation and healing.

For too long African Americans servicemembers have been forced to tolerate the hidden racism that existed under the guise of the rebel flag, knowing through oral history the brutality of those who voluntarily fought for the Confederacy.

The FY2021 NDAA ushers in a new enlightened era where the names of traitors who took up arms against the United States will have their names removed from places of honor such as military bases or installations.

These individuals will not be forgotten; instead they will have a permanent place in history and their records will be studied and examined in full by historians and scholars.

Madam Speaker, it is also fitting that FY2021 NDAA directs the Department of Defense to take concrete actions to recognize and memorialize the contributions made by African Americans and Native Americans servicemembers in defense of our nation.

The history of African Americans and Native Americans serving in the military date back to the colonial period of our nation to the present day.

In every war waged from the Battle of Lexington to the Battle for Fallujah, African Americans and Native Americans have honorably answered the call to duty, and served with great valor and distinction in America's armed forces.

At decisive moments in our nation's history, the United States military and its citizens warriors answered the call and were decisive in the nation's epic battles for freedom and liberty, including:

Revolutionary War (1776-1783); War of 1812 (1812-1814); Mexican- American War (1836); Civil War (1861-1865); Spanish-American War (1898); World War I (1914-1918); World War II (1941-1945); Korean War (1950-1953); Vietnam War (1965-1975); Gulf War (1991); and Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, as well as conflicts in other theaters of war.

The military was there doing a job no other branch of our nation's government could do--in the face of overwhelming danger--when the fate of the American Experiment was on the line.

Our thanks to the military for always answering the call of duty-- whether that call comes in the dead of night or the light of day--we know that we can count on you.

The names and faces of millions of African Americans who have served our nation in uniform may fade from memory, but today we have the opportunity to remember and see them in the faces of the young men and women who preserved freedom in the world, even at a time when the blessings of liberty were denied to them at home.

The Jackson Lee provision in the FY2021 NDAA recognizes that there is no shortage of distinguished veterans, and especially African American and Native American veterans, who are worthy of the honor of naming a military facility in their honor.

Let me provide for the record some representative candidates. UNITED STATES ARMY

General Roscoe Robinson Jr., the first black four-star general in the Army and 1951 West Point graduate who attended the service academy before the Army was desegregated and served in Korea and Vietnam, with valor decorations in both conflicts, and as a training officer as part of the U.S. military support mission in Liberia. He went on to become the first black commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, deputy chief of staff for operations in U.S. Army Europe, commander of U.S. Forces Japan, the U.S. representative on the NATO Military Committee.

William Harvey Carney was the first African American recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor, which he received for his actions on July 18, 1863 at Fort Wagner, South Carolina, while a member of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment in the Civil War--the state's first all-black regiment.

The 54th Massachusetts was the subject of the film, ``Glory,'' starring Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman.

Lieutenant Colonel Charity Edna Adams was appointed to lead the African American Women's Army Corps unit designated as the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, which became known as the ``Six Triple Eight.''

The ``Six Triple Eight'' unit was instrumental in establishing and maintaining morale because it assured that mail from the battlefront and the home-front flowed efficiently and timely.

Lt. Col. Margaret E. Bailey of the Army Nurse Corps was the first nurse to be promoted to lieutenant colonel. UNITED STATES NAVY

Messman First Class Dorie Miller was serving in a noncombat role in the Navy, when he acted heroically to defend lives after his ship, the USS West Virginia was attacked at Pearl Harbor.

He was the first African American to be awarded the Navy Cross, the third highest honor awarded by the United States Navy at the time.

Admiral Michelle Howard is a four-star Admiral and one of the highest-ranking African American women ever to serve in any branch of the military. Admiral Howard is also the first African American woman to command a U.S. naval vessel, the USS Rushmore.

She is the Navy's second highest ranking officer and is currently serving as the commander of U.S. Naval Forces Africa, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe, and commander of Allied Joint Force Command Naples. UNITED STATES AIR FORCE

In 2012, Lieutenant Colonel Shawna Rochelle-Kimbrell became the first female African American fighter pilot in the Air Force history and her flights in Northern Watch marked her as the first female pilot to fly combat missions for Misawa's 35th Fighter Wing and the first African American woman to employ ordinance in combat. She has logged more than 1,110 hours in the F-16, including 176 hours of combat time.

Colonel Ruth A. Lucas was the first African American woman in the Air Force to be promoted to the rank of colonel. At the time of her retirement in 1970, she was the highest-ranking African American woman in the Air Force.

In 1959 General Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. became the first African American Major General in the United States Air Force. As the organizer and commander of famed 332nd Fighter Group known as the Tuskegee Airmen, his place in history will be forever remembered and revered.

General Davis received many decorations during his career, including two Distinguished Service Medals and a Silver Star and on December 9, 1998, General Davis was awarded his fourth general's star by President Bill Clinton. UNITED STATES COAST GUARD

Chief Petty Officer Alex Haley is best known for writing letters for his shipmates and his short stories and articles, which got him promoted to Chief Journalist of the Coast Guard in 1959.

Haley ultimately received a number of military honors, including the American Defense Service Medal, World War II Victory Medal and an honorary degree from the Coast Guard Academy but most of you know him also as the author of ``Roots,'' the path-breaking and epic retracing of a family's history from the Gambian coast in Africa to the New World in America.

In 1957, Captain Bobby Wilks became the first African American Coast Guard aviator. He later became the first African American to reach the rank of Captain and the first to command a Coast Guard air station. He accumulated over 6,000 flight hours in 18 different types of aircrafts.

Madam Speaker, 25 percent of the today's active duty military is comprised of persons of color, of which 17.8 percent are African American.

This percentage outpaces the percentage of African Americans in the general population (13 percent) but lagging significantly is the 9% of African Americans in the commissioned officer ranks. NATIVE AMERICANS

The Jackson Lee Amendment offered during House consideration of the NDAA was expanded to include Native Americans.

It is without doubt that the military has a storied history of Native American contributions to the securing our nation since colonial times to the present.

One famous example of their contributions occurred during World War II when the U.S. military developed a specific policy to recruit and train Navajo speakers to become ``code talkers.''

Code Talker is the name given to 29 Navajo Natives who used their tribal language to send secret communications on the battlefield.

The Marines formed the Navajo Code Talkers, who created a code based on the complex, unwritten Navajo language.

The code primarily used word association by assigning a Navajo word to key phrases and military tactics.

This system enabled the Code Talkers to translate three lines of English in 20 seconds, not 30 minutes as was common with existing codebreaking machines.

The Code Talkers participated in every major Marine operation in the Pacific theater, giving the Marines a critical advantage throughout the war.

During the nearly month-long battle for Iwo Jima, for example, six Navajo Code Talker Marines successfully transmitted more than 800 messages without error.

Marine leadership noted after the battle that the Code Talkers were critical to the victory at Iwo Jima.

The Navajo Code was never broken.

Our Native American brothers and sisters are more than worthy to be so honored by having their names considered for military bases and installations. BOOGALOO AND PROUD BOYS

Another Jackson Lee Amendment included in the House version of the NDAA directed the Secretary of Defense to report to Congress the extent, if any, of the threat to national security posed by domestic terrorist groups and organizations motivated by a belief system of white supremacy, such as extremist groups like the Boogaloo Boys and the Proud Boys, is reflected in the Conference bill.

The concern is that in the aftermath of a historic national election, the activity of violence influencers like Boogaloo Boys or Proud Boys will increase and lead to attacks becoming more frequent.

We have witnessed too many instances of violent extremists searching for opportunities to sow violence and disrupt democratic processes and Boogaloo and Proud Boys are targeting constitutionally protected activity to coopt or to provide cover for attacks.

Jackson Lee Amendment 179 implements a recommendation made by the Cyberspace Solarium Commission to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop a strategy to implement Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) standard across U.S.-based email providers to increase the security of email,

The security of email has grown in importance as it has become in many ways the primary way that businesses, consumers, government communicate.

The Senate bill also addressed this important issue and the language of the final Conference concurs.

For all these reasons, I urge all Members to join me in voting to override the President's unwise and ill-considered veto of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021.

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