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Floor Speech

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Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I know the Senator from Kentucky and the Senator from Michigan are trying to work through some differences on a potential unanimous consent request, but I have asked them if I might make a few remarks if they are not quite ready yet, and they have graciously allowed me to do so.

What I want to talk about is--it is December 6. It is 19 days until Christmas, and the 117th Congress is quickly coming to a close, but there is a lot of work that needs to be done in the meantime--first, the National Defense Authorization Act, which I hope will be the next order of business.

You know, when people ask me, ``What are your priorities when it comes to representing the State of Texas in the U.S. Senate?'' I say: Well, it is clear there is one priority, and that is the strength and security and safety of our Nation and our way of life--to preserve and protect the peace and to protect the freedom of all Americans.

The way we do that is through the National Defense Authorization Act. It is, I believe, the most important piece of legislation that we consider each year, among other important pieces of legislation. This is how we support our troops, how we support our military families in an all-volunteer military, how we maintain our military bases, how we modernize our weapons systems and airframes and invest in the next generation of weapons.

I believe what Ronald Reagan said--that we maintain peace through strength--and when we don't make our national defense a priority, when we neglect the most important responsibilities we have here, it sends the wrong message to our adversaries and those who would take advantage of a power vacuum left by an America that refuses to lead.

The National Defense Authorization Act is how we strengthen our relationships with old allies and forge strong partnerships with new ones. For example, as a result of the invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin, now Finland and Sweden have said they want to become part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which is certainly not what Mr. Putin contemplated when he said he was invading Ukraine because he didn't want a potential NATO member on his border. Well, as a result of his blundering invasion and wrongful invasion of Ukraine, he is now going to have Finland as a NATO partner on his border with some, I believe, roughly, 800 miles of common border.

We know that this is an increasingly challenging global threat landscape, and we have to do everything we can to make sure our troops have the training and the equipment and the resources needed to counter adversaries of today and tomorrow.

Given the state of the world, preserving our military readiness has never been more important. China and Russia have, obviously, grown more aggressive in their efforts to disrupt the global order. North Korea continues to threaten the United States and our allies with its nuclear capabilities. Iran, which is the largest state sponsor of terrorism, continues to threaten democracies in the Middle East, including our ally in Israel, and to threaten not only regional conflict but something worse.

This is a fragile time for global peace and security, and a strong National Defense Authorization Act is the principal way that we supply our military with the resources and certainty needed for our commanders to plan for the future.

But this legislation is about much more than maintaining a strong national defense. It is about empowering and supporting the men and women behind it. America's servicemembers are volunteers, and they have made a commitment not everyone is willing to make in joining the ranks of America's heroes who have defended our country throughout our Nation's history. They make sacrifices each and every day in order to keep our families safe and our Nation at peace, and we owe it to them to give them the support that they need. That includes not only the training, technology, and equipment they need to do their jobs but also the pay and benefits that their families depend on.

In short, a strong National Defense Authorization Act is critical to the success of our servicemembers, their families, American security, and, indeed, world peace. We simply can't neglect this important responsibility or delay it any longer. I think the majority leader, the Senator from New York, has already delayed it to the point that here we are, backed up against Christmas, with no time to spare. Congress needs to pass this annual Defense authorization bill ASAP--as soon as possible. I hear the House is planning to take up the Defense Authorization Act this week, and I hope that the Senate will follow in short order.

For the past 61 years in a row--61 years--Congress has managed to overcome partisan differences and pass this legislation. I hope that will continue this year, but I am becoming more and more concerned given the crunch that we are experiencing here 19 days before Christmas.

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