National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022

Floor Speech

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Mr. TURNER. Mr. Speaker, I claim the time in opposition.

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Mr. TURNER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend, Mr. Garamendi, for bringing this forward. I do mean that ``thank you'' sincerely because he gives us an opportunity to highlight that this provision that he seeks to undo has strong bipartisan support.

Representative Garamendi, although being my good friend, is in the minority of the minority. He gives us an opportunity to highlight that, in fact, his amendment would remove funding that is requested by President Joe Biden. It is of a program that was initiated by the Obama administration. These plans have been validated by three Presidential administrations--Democrat and Republican--six Congresses, and six Secretaries of Defense, and a bipartisan majority in Congress has voted repeatedly in support of this program. The same holds true for the warhead, which will eventually go on top of the missile. Both Democrat and Republican Presidents support this system as it will replace the oldest warhead in the U.S. arsenal. This will increase our safety and security.

We have been told by Secretary Austin that to try to extend--if it could--the Minuteman III, it would take $38 billion more. We would have less capability. And earlier this year, we even had a failure of a Minuteman III ICBM test. This cannot be accomplished, and it has bipartisan support to move forward. This is about safety and security of our nuclear deterrent and our Nation.

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Mr. TURNER. Mr. Speaker, Representative Garamendi is correct. Russia and China are in an arms race; we are not merely modernizing our forces. It is sad that we are here trying to defend against an amendment that will weaken our national defense just as yesterday the majority cut a billion dollars from the defense of Israel in its Iron Dome, which will only make it more likely that there is conflict.

Cutting our nuclear deterrent also just increases the likelihood that there would be conflict. This is about making certain our country remains safe. This is about our national security. Everyone should vote ``no'' on this amendment.

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Mr. TURNER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

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