National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022

Floor Speech

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Mr. TURNER. Madam Speaker, I support the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022. Thanks to the leadership of Chairman Smith and Ranking Member Rogers, as well as the chairman of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee, Jim Cooper, this year's NDAA was, once again, compiled and reported for consideration on the floor today in a bipartisan manner. This bill is also the product of the diligent work of the committee staff whom I would like to thank including the Strategic Forces Subcommittee's PSMs, Maria Vastola, Grant Schneider, Ryan Tully, Whitney Verett, and Zach Taylor, as well as the committee's majority staff director, Paul Arcangeli, and minority staff director, Chris Vieson.

Admiral Richard, the Commander of U.S. Strategic Command, has told us we are facing a situation our Nation has not encountered before. We must deter two peer nuclear-capable competitors simultaneously and must do so with each being deterred differently. I am confident that the FY 2022 NDAA before us today places us on the right path to properly observe both Russia and China.

First and foremost, the bill increases top line defense spending by nearly $25 billion, reversing the harmful and reckless cuts from the President's budget, ensuring an annual growth of 5 percent over the previous year, and funding the DOD's most critical unfunded priorities.

Next, with one exception, the NDAA continues to fully fund programs within the Department of Defense and Department of Energy that modernize the Nation's nuclear triad and modernize the nuclear command, control, and communications systems. This is especially critical to maintaining a safe, secure, and reliable strategic deterrent while China is undergoing an unprecedented and massive nuclear build-up and Russia is undertaking significant modernization of all three legs of its triad. Also, both Russia and China are developing brand-new, novel nuclear delivery systems.

This NDAA fully funds capabilities necessary for the defense of Guam and prohibits reduction of our ICBM inventory while simultaneously halting efforts to retire or reconvert our low-yield nuclear warheads, which are currently deployed in defense of our Nation. And this NDAA reverses President Biden's detrimental and dangerous budgetary cuts to our missile defense systems.

Madam Speaker, I encourage all Members to support this bill.

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