Streamlining Procurement for Effective Execution and Delivery and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026

Floor Speech

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Ms. WATERS. Madam Chair, the National Defense Authorization Act often includes provisions that have nothing to do with our national defense, and that is not a bad thing. In the past, members of my committee have passed reforms to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, updated our anti-money-laundering bills, and made numerous changes to securities and consumer protection laws on the NDAA.

This year, Speaker Johnson cut a deal with his Freedom Caucus members to insert a ban on the U.S. from researching how to create a digital dollar, knowing that Democrats overwhelmingly rejected it in July.

Even though Speaker Johnson included this provision, he blocked all of my committee members' financial services amendments from consideration in this bill.

What did he block? I offered an amendment to restore funding to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that Trump unlawfully cut. I also offered language to protect workers, small businesses, and small community banks and credit unions by reforming deposit insurance.

Another amendment that the Republicans are blocking would increase funding for affordable housing. Finally, I tried to attach my bill to stop Trump family's crypto corruption, which now exceeds $7.7 billion.

Republicans won't bring these ideas to the floor, probably because Republicans are scared that they would pass. It is why Republicans also jammed in their ban of a digital dollar. They know that most Americans reject what they are doing.

For all of these reasons and many more, I urge a ``no'' vote on H.R. 3838.

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