Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025

Floor Speech

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Mr. NUNN of Iowa. Mr. Chair, I thank Chairman Rogers for his leadership on the National Defense Authorization Act.

I rise in support of four amendments today included in this en bloc.

I offer my first amendment in memory of Corporal Adam Lambert, a proud marine from Adel, Iowa. He returned home and, unfortunately, lost his life to suicide shortly after his combat tour of duty.

Today, America loses 22 of its veterans to suicide every single day. We must do more to stop this silent epidemic. Amendment No. 980 aims to reduce the number of veteran suicides by improving our Transition Assistance Program, or TAP, and the Solid Start program to alert transitioning veterans of the mental health services available to them today through the VA.

Second, fighting Communist China requires America be a leader in cybersecurity. My amendment No. 1012 bans the Department of Defense from acquiring, procuring, or utilizing blockchain technology created by our foreign adversaries.

The CCP is developing new technology to manipulate America and infiltrate our national security by rewiring our hard infrastructure.

America is investing heavily in blockchain technology today, developing cloud storage technology. This technology is the future of data management, with worldwide adoption expected in the next decade.

Let me be clear: Failure for America to be able to act or for the Department of Defense to become a subsidiary of a Chinese blockchain is a thousand times worse than anything even TikTok could present today.

This is a critical step to stop this crisis before it is too late, Mr. Chair, and protect Americans.

Last, innovation in America's defense demands a public-private partnership, particularly with our most strategic allies. Amendment Nos. 1038 and 1055 will counter near-peer adversaries in the Middle East and tackle the tech advances that Communist China has made.

As Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah rain down terror on Israel, we must support our strongest ally in the Middle East as she defends herself.

With these strategic partnerships, we can support not only our allies but also learn from the innovations being created by our allies, create new pathways and new markets for our defense tech startups, and continue to leverage America's dominance and spirit of innovation to shape a safer world.

These amendments will establish a key strategic partnership between the Defense Innovation Unit, where I have worked, with our allies in Israel and Taiwan.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this en bloc in a bipartisan way across both sides of the aisle, and I thank the chairman for including this in his overall package.

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