"Face the Nation," July 16, 2023
Interview
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Thanks for having me.
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Right.
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You know, we saw this actually when the Democrats had the majority, they passed a very partisan, you know, NDAA bill. It went over to the Senate. You know, I'm a - we did the conference committee. And, traditionally, the more, you know, was - the more partisan minutes get stripped out.
At the end of the day this always ends up it is as a bipartisan bill. You know, but there were some -- certain policies, like, for instance, the Hyde amendment since 1980, not to fund taxpayer abortions that, you know, our members felt was very important to put in there.
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I think that's one that will survive.
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And pay expenses, yes.
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Well, you know, I wish they hadn't --
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Well, they actually kind of started this argument. And, look, this is a process. You know we had a lot of amendments. Our members needed that vote. And I do think, at the end of the day, we come together as a conference. And it will be a bipartisan bill. I think there's nothing more important than our national defense and our military. We give the largest pay raise in 20 years. We upgrade our triad system, our nuclear capabilities, hyper sonics, a lot to counter China, and particularly in Taiwan. So, it's vitally important we not politicize this bill at the end of the day. And I feel very confident we'll have a bipartisan bill coming out.
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Well, because that goes against the -
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Well, it does against -- since 1980 we haven't funded anything that goes towards taxpayer, you know, abortions. I think some of the policies on culture that the - that the Defense Department has instituted has caused problems within our own military. Recruitment is at an all-time low now. After Afghanistan, and then to watch these videos that these - these trained, you know, say SEALs have to watch, you know, injecting their own social, moral policies, let's make it about readiness and our ability to fight a war.
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Well, they're free - they're free to travel to another state to have an --
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To have an abortion. Just not at taxpayer expense.
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All right. Well, you know my position on Ukraine. We should have, a year ago, been putting in the weapons we're putting in just now.
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For victory, not to - just to survive.
There were several Ukraine amendments. They - they all failed. And I would say the majority of Republicans voted to support Ukraine. At the end of the day, you know, the Reagan Institute did a great - a great poll that showed that over 70 percent of Republicans support Ukraine. And I think that was reflected in our vote. Yes, we had about 70 members that voted against it, but I do think, when it comes back, you're going to see a more bipartisan support for things like our efforts in Ukraine, particularly as we're in the counteroffensive.
To me, it's very dangerous to have these amendments when Ukraine is in the crossfire trying to push the aggression of Russia back in the counteroffensive.
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Correct. Correct.
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We -- we did.
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And it failed. And I think that's good news.
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Sure. It was already appropriated in the supplemental last year. You know, the $90 billion. I mean, it's a draw down authority.
We have ATACMS. So I have great sources on the ground and they're telling me right - right now, because of the mines and the fortifications, that what they need -- the cluster munitions are going to help with, you know, killing Russians in the field. However, they need the longer range artilleries to hit the depots, the energy, the - the logistical supply lines. They don't have that. And they don't have air cover. And that's -
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That's really important here because the F-16s were held back so long by the administration, and the pilot training, that they don't have what they need to win in this counteroffensive. And it's really sad.
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Well, we sent -- I sent a letter. We were rebuked. We have been given no answer about his status. Remember, this is a top negotiator to Iran on one of the most, you know, on nuclear weapons programs --
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Our highest classified secrets. So, we are giving a deadline of July 25th to have, you know, the diplomatic security and management secretary come in and brief us in a classified space.
Margaret, I can't tell you how important this is because if he somehow, you know, worst case scenario, if he transferred intelligence and secrets to our foreign nation adversaries --
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There is no proof of that.
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But if he did, that would be treason, in my view.
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Thanks, Margaret.
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