Providing for Consideration of H.R. National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year Providing for Consideration of S. Protecting Our Gold Star Families Education Act; Providing for Consideration of H.R. Women's Health Protection Act of Providing for Consideration of H.R. Ensuring Access to Abortion Act of Providing for Consideration of H.R. Active Shooter Alert Act of and for Other Purposes

Floor Speech

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Mrs. BICE of Oklahoma. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague for yielding.

I rise in opposition to the combined rule, although I support the underlying NDAA. This year's NDAA makes targeted investments in our defense to protect us from increasingly aggressive adversaries like China and Russia.

I was pleased to include a wide range of priorities for my home State of Oklahoma, and multiple amendments focused on supporting servicemembers, strengthening our cybersecurity posture, and deterring our enemies.

Many Oklahomans were concerned when President Biden announced his intent to divest half of the E-3 AWACS fleet at Tinker Air Force Base. I worked on this issue for months and secured an amendment to slow the divestment and to retain the training pipeline that will be needed as we transition to the new E-7.

I was also proud to work with my colleague and friend, Tom Cole, to secure $30 million for the new B-21 depot maintenance campus at Tinker Air Force Base.

The NDAA also includes two bills I introduced: H.R. 7738 which would facilitate greater security clearance portability for departing servicemembers, and H. Res. 1143 which honors the USS Oklahoma City for three decades of service.

With that said, I am concerned that the combined rule has excluded many important amendments that deserve to be debated. This includes an amendment I offered to stop the Department of Defense from recouping bonuses to servicemembers based on their COVID-19 vaccination status. I have heard about this issue from my constituents, and this practice must be stopped.

Lastly, this combined rule provides for two abortion measures which I strongly oppose. I am deeply concerned that these measures would remove all pro-life protections at the Federal and State level. Constituents in my home State of Oklahoma overwhelmingly support these protections, and as a former State legislator myself, I find this approach to be unacceptable.

Madam Speaker, for these reasons, I urge my colleagues to reject the combined rule.

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