National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, this is an en bloc that was put together in close consultation with the minority. I urge all Members to support it, and I reserve the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot).
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Pfluger), one of our outstanding freshmen.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Madam Speaker, I have some more speakers who aren't ready to speak right now, so at this time I reserve the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Cammack), who is another outstanding freshman Member.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Madam Speaker, I urge support of the amendments en bloc, and I yield back the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the amendment.
I fully support our law enforcement community, and particularly those in small and rural communities like those that pepper my entire congressional district. Those are the ones that benefit the most from the 1033 program.
Limiting military equipment transfers would significantly impede their ability to do their jobs to keep us safe. We need to be supporting our law enforcement community, not making their missions more difficult.
For that reason I oppose this amendment and urge a ``no'' vote, and I reserve the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Scott Franklin), my friend and colleague, and a great member of the Armed Services Committee.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this amendment.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I want people to understand what the gentleman is proposing because it is naive and reckless.
When we get the budget proposal from the administration, it is just that. It is a proposal. But it is also from the executive branch. It is not coming directly from the combatant commanders, who are the individuals that we charge with the responsibility for executing the U.S. missions around the world.
This amendment would prohibit them giving us the items that were not funded by the President's budget proposal. Keep in mind, both this President and the last President have given us budget proposals that were grossly inadequate. We were able to remedy it under the last President; we were able to remedy it in this one with this President. And we depend heavily on what the combatant commanders tell us they need.
It is critical that Congress knows what the commanders need to keep our servicemembers safe and ensure the success of their missions.
Here is an example. In the fiscal year 2022 unfunded priority, the CENTCOM commander sent us a $106 million request to operate and maintain the Patriot batteries deployed in Iraq to keep our troops safe from missiles fired from Iran and the proxies in Syria.
That money was not in the Biden budget. We found out about it and funded it because of that critical need, and it is now in the bill because General McKenzie told us about it in his unfunded requirement list. We wouldn't have known about that otherwise. That is just one example of why this amendment is misguided.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to oppose it, and I reserve the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I know the gentleman means well, but I am not misguided, and I don't misunderstand anything.
I know exactly what the unfunded requirements request list is, it is a vital piece of information for our committee to do its oversight, and I urge the Members of this body to reject this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, this is a terrible and reckless amendment, and I urge all the Members of this body to reject it, and I yield back the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the amendment.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, this amendment will strip $79 billion out of the bill. That would have catastrophic effects on our training and readiness.
I need to remind Members, we have been at war for two decades, we have worn out everything we have got. We have got to start replacing and modernizing for the future to be able to take on the threats from China and other adversaries. This will set us back on clean-up and environmental remediation of PFAS and other contaminated items.
It would put off construction of new military housing, schools, and childcare facilities, and the list goes on.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to oppose this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, this bill does everything the gentlewoman just talked about. We are investing in those items that she has talked about, and we are divesting ourselves of those $78 billion worth of legacy platforms that will not be useful in the future, and we are applying that money toward future platforms.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I would point out that achieving or meeting the objectives that the gentlewoman just outlined and defense are not mutually exclusive, we can do both and should do both.
And I would point out that the $3.5 trillion that the other side is proposing doesn't spend a dime on defense. Also, we are in the process of auditing. The gentlewoman is exactly right, the Defense Department has never passed an audit. This bill continues the pressure on them to get that complete. We have had many agencies that passed, not all have, and we are not going to let up until they pass an audit.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, this amendment guts our bill which is, I am certain, the gentlewoman's intention. It is recklessly irresponsible. It would harm our servicemembers and their families.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge all Members to oppose it, and I yield back the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I claim the time in opposition to the amendment.
Mr. Speaker, here we go again. This time they are stripping $25 billion in funding added by Republicans and Democrats on the committee.
The gentlewoman argues that the Biden budget is sufficient for our national defense. I strongly disagree. The Biden budget constitutes a cut of about $4 billion in real spending from last year. The budget cuts the number of Navy ships. It cuts the number of Navy ships and destabilizes the industrial base. It slashes procurement across the board. It guts missile defense. It leaves unfunded $25 billion in combatant commander priorities, and it cuts the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. At least they left the Space Corps alone.
It does all this while our adversaries, especially China, are investing in military modernization. China increased its defense spending by 75 percent over the last decade--6 percent this year alone. They are leapfrogging this into capabilities like AI and hypersonics, and they are stepping up malign operations against America and our allies.
What is the President's response to this?
He responds with a budget that would cut funding programs that we need to deter China. It doesn't make sense, especially when he is proposing to swell nondefense spending by a massive 16 percent this year. This bill corrects that.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to oppose this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, the underlying bill before this body, the FY22 National Defense Authorization Act, would increase spending by 3 percent over inflation, which is a modest increase. And it passed our committee with an overwhelming bipartisan vote.
This amendment guts the bill. I urge all Members to oppose it, and I yield back the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
Mr. Speaker, this en bloc package was put together in close consultation with the minority. I urge all Members to support it.
Miss GONZALEZ-COLON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my amendments that are included in this amendment en bloc number 2 for the National Defense Authorization Act.
This bill includes three amendments that were submitted by my office that will directly benefit our Nation's security and, of course, the people of Puerto Rico.
The first one is amendment 162, which authorizes research into the health effects of nearly 70 years of live fire training in the municipality of Vieques.
As well, amendment 163 supports the Puerto Rico National Guard by prohibiting the retirement of the current landing craft ships, or the MAG boats, not only used in the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2019 and that were used again in March of this year. The Puerto Rico National Guard has used these ships to provide lifesaving food, water, and other equipment to the U.S. Virgin Islands, Vieques, and Culebra after any natural disaster. We cannot afford to retire these ships until they are replaced.
Lastly, will be amendment 164, which requires the Secretary of the Army to allocate a Modular Small Arms Range to Puerto Rico. This is to increase the readiness of the Armed Forces. Right now, Puerto Rico only has a single firearms range for the Department of Defense personnel. That means that there are numerous scheduling conflicts, and it decreases the mission readiness on the island.
I think those amendments should be supported.
I want to thank Chairman Smith and Ranking Member Rogers; I really appreciate all their good work on this NDAA. Included in this en bloc are numerous provisions for the people of Puerto Rico as a territory.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I urge support of the amendments en bloc, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mrs. MILLER of West Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill and my four amendments.
The first amendment will require a report on the status of women in Afghanistan. The rights we fought to secure for them are in dire peril.
The second will hold the administration accountable by requesting a report on the amount of money and materials left behind in Afghanistan.
The third blocks any funding for intelligence sharing and ensures no taxpayer dollars are wasted working with the Taliban. They proved that they can't be trusted by the deadly events at the airport.
The final amendment will establish a memorial for the 13 servicemembers who perished securing the airport.
They lost their lives protecting Americans and our allies. This memorial would ensure that they are never forgotten for their sacrifice.
I urge adoption of all four of my amendments.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Van Duyne), one of our great new freshman members of the Republican Conference.
Ms. VAN DUYNE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this en bloc, which includes my friend and colleague Representative Dean Phillips' amendment, which directs the Secretary of Defense to submit a report on the effects of the Department of Defense's Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification framework on small business.
Recognizing the increased cyber vulnerabilities of small contractors, the DOD initiated a new cybersecurity assessment framework called the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification to assess contractor implementation of cybersecurity requirements.
While no one disputes the Federal Government's need to address the growing cybersecurity risks facing our Nation, I am concerned that the CMMC has created another hurdle to keep small businesses from competing effectively in the defense marketplace.
There is no question our military relies heavily on the many small businesses that make up our defense contracting network, and their voices should be heard throughout this process.
Strong national security and cybersecurity in a thriving defense industrial base shouldn't be mutually exclusively goals, and I hope this amendment will set a clear path forward for our smaller contractors.
I would also like to rise today in support of the following amendments en bloc, which includes my supply chain-focused amendment that I was proud to introduce with my main colleague, Mr. Golden.
Now, more than ever, we must ensure our supply chains are protected, and with every business I meet, I continue to hear how they are experiencing firsthand impacts of supply chain disruptions due to COVID-19. And to prevent further disruptions, we must act now to identify vulnerabilities. Protecting our supply chain is more than just business, it is a matter now of national security.
My amendment will begin this process by directing the DNI and the CIA to identify those critical supply chains to our national security, economic security, and public health, as well as recommend necessary actions.
It is my goal, along with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, that this amendment will prevent another grave supply chain crisis.
Mr. Speaker, I urge support of these two amendments.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama.
Mr. Speaker, this en bloc was put together in close consultation by the majority with the minority. I urge all Members to support it, and I yield back the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Tenney), an outstanding member of our Conference.
Mr. Speaker, again, I want to state this en bloc package was reached in close coordination between the majority and minority. I urge its favorable support, and I yield back the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source