Enduring Commitment to Our Brave Men and Women in Uniform

Floor Speech

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Ms. HOULAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to address the House and to revise and extend my remarks.

First, I thank Chair Rogers and Representatives Smith and Bacon for the opportunity to work on this really important piece of legislation, which is the National Defense Authorization Act.

Unlike any other piece of legislation that we have passed in Congress, we have passed this bill every single year for over six decades. It is a testament to our enduring commitment to our brave men and women in uniform, and it is proof that Republicans and Democrats can indeed continue to find common ground and provide for our collective defense.

Since I arrived in 2019 in Congress, I have had the privilege of serving on the Armed Services Committee, which oversees this defense bill, and it is truly one of the highlights of my career to serve on such a bipartisan committee. This idea of bipartisanship, putting country before party, is not new to me. It is indeed how I was raised.

As the daughter and granddaughter of naval aviators, it is not an exaggeration to say that my very earliest memories are on a military base. I was born at Patuxent River Naval Air Station just a few hours from here. When it was my turn to fulfill our commitment to our Nation, I served in the Air Force, but that, of course, did not come without challenges.

Now, as a member of the Armed Services Committee, I have shared not only my own challenges and those of my family who have been in uniform, but also those of my mother and my grandmother and countless other Pennsylvanians and Americans I have been able to talk to along the way. Sharing these stories helps make our military the greatest on Earth and make it even stronger.

For nearly a year, I have now had the privilege of serving as ranking member on our Military Quality of Life Panel alongside my very dear friend, Republican colleague Representative Don Bacon from Nebraska. From inadequate pay to substandard housing conditions and to long wait times for essential services, it is very clear that we have enormous work to do to ensure that our military families have the support and resources that they need to thrive. That is why we proposed 31 different recommendations, and I will highlight just a few of them.

First and foremost, pay. We want pay that is competitive with our civilian economy, including a significant additional pay raise for junior enlisted, E-1 through E-4.

Second, housing. Our recommendation is to reverse the 5 percent reduction in BAH that was passed nearly a decade ago. BAH would now cover 100 percent of the calculated rate for military housing.

In a similar vein, third, we recommended funding facility budget requests at 100 percent of the maintenance and modernization requirements so that we are able to fully fund them.

Next and finally, childcare. The bill that we passed out of committee would cover childcare expenses for those who worked in our childcare development centers for their first child at a minimum. This would get more staff on the books, more open and available childcare slots, and reduce wait times.

Finally, on healthcare. Servicemembers won't need referrals any longer for physical therapy, for nutrition, for women's health, for audiology, for optometry, and podiatry specialties.

Next, spousal employment. We will be supporting military spouses by expanding childcare access for them from 90 to 100 days while they are able to look for a job, and we are permanently expanding our partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

We have the greatest military in the world because of the people that wear the uniform and the families that support them, so we must take care of them. At the very least, we owe our military community a bill that is free from political drama and theater.

Unfortunately, we here on the floor are now seeing some very upsetting amendments being offered to a very bipartisan bill and potentially adding to this bill many poison pills, poison pills that will make it difficult for even me to vote for the final passage of the bill, even though there is so much goodness in it.

Here are just a few ideas of what we will be voting on today:

Banning Pride flags in workplaces and public areas in the Department of Defense.

This one is particularly absurd: Banning content related to certain animals that change their sex, like clown fish, and a range of education materials.

Thirdly, prohibiting the Secretary of Defense from paying or reimbursing expenses related to reproductive care, such as abortion services.

Fourth, eliminating any DEI, or diversity, equity, and inclusion, within the military and laying off everyone who is in those offices.

Finally, prohibiting all assistance to Ukraine, which, of course, would be a gift to Russia, China, Iran, and all of our adversaries. These are just some of the very nonserious efforts that we are seeing here on the floor. It is enormously frustrating to see these being added to this bill, which was such a bipartisan bill, voted out of committee 57-1.

Regardless of which amendments are passed, these are attacks against women, against the LGBTQ community, against diversity initiatives, and more. They will have a chilling effect on military recruitment and retention at a time when we are facing historic challenges to fill our all-volunteer ranks.

We, the Congress, need to knock this off. I proudly served in uniform, as did generations of my family before me, and I will do everything in my power to send a truly bipartisan bill to the President for signature. I very much look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues in the House and Senate to do just that.

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