National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024

Floor Speech

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Mr. BACON. Mr. Chairman, I regret I have to oppose my colleague from Tennessee's amendment. I believe it is in our national security interest that Ukraine remains independent. If they fall, what happens next? What does the bully do next?

He threatens the Baltics. He has already called them renegade states. That is a threat. You stop a bully when he is pushing you around. That is what Putin is doing. He invaded a country one-forth the size of Russia in population. They cannot win without our help. It is not Americans doing the fighting, it is Ukrainians doing the fighting, but they cannot prevail without our material support.

Thus far, we have provided about 5 percent of what our military budget equates to. For 5 percent, half of Russia's tanks have been destroyed and almost 200,000 Russians have been killed while they are invading the Ukrainians.

We have spent this money in a way that is helping our national interests prevail, and it is helping Ukraine survive. It will prevent what I believe is the next phase, if we stop him here, which is the Baltics or Poland.

Mr. Chairman, I recommend that my colleagues vote against this amendment.

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Mr. BACON. Mr. Chair, I stand in strong opposition to this bill, as someone who had nuclear command and control authorities when I was a general officer in the Air Force, as someone who knows that nuclear and strategic deterrence is job number one for our military.

Today, China is building a nuclear force to match ours and is more modernized. Russia has a nuclear force today that matches ours in numbers and is more modernized. This is not the time to reduce.

Former STRATCOM Commander Admiral Richard said the Chinese nuclear expansion is breathtaking, and it is. Today is the day that we have to modernize our forces, not talk about reducing them or cutting them down.

I also point out that our ICBM force offers the highest rates of readiness and alert capabilities. Once they are put in, they are the cheapest to operate.

Mr. Chair, I urge defeat of this amendment. Our country cannot afford it. Strategic deterrence can't afford it. Nuclear deterrence can't afford it.

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