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

Floor Speech

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Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong opposition to this amendment.

Let's be clear: The Exceptional Family Member Program does not pay for medical care. Its purpose is simple: to ensure that military families are stationed where the medical and educational services they need are available.

This amendment misrepresents the mission, and it undermines it.

We ask our servicemembers to sacrifice so much for this country, in many cases, even their lives. As a mother, I would never ask them to sacrifice their child's well-being. That is not just offensive, that is cruel, and it is inhumane.

Gender-affirming care is healthcare. Denying it sends a harmful message to military families with transgender children that their needs, their dignity, who they are, and their very lives do not matter.

In addition, when we harm their families and when we harm their children, we undermine the very readiness we are so focused on as a military, the very people whom we rely on to be on the front lines, defending this Nation every day.

Our servicemembers put everything on the line, and we should do the same for them. Vote ``no'' on this amendment.

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Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition.

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Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong opposition to this amendment striking funding for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative.

Coming from Hawaii, on the front lines of the Indo-Pacific, I know firsthand how critically important it is to keep our ties in this region strong.

The Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative is not just another line item. It is a vital provision that enables Taiwan to maintain its self- defense capabilities and sends a clear message to both Taipei and Beijing that the United States is serious about deterrence. It keeps us out of that war that the sponsor of this amendment is so concerned about. Cutting this funding would only invite Beijing to push harder, not pull back.

We say we want to be tough on China, yet here we are entertaining whether to cut one of the clearest demonstrations of our strength and resolve. The fact that this amendment has even been made in order undermines us. Just giving this amendment airtime sows seeds of doubt in Taiwan as to our support and further emboldens Beijing. This is not, by any means, a serious amendment.

In this very same bill that we are debating, we are considering bipartisan provisions that strengthen our defense relations with Taiwan, expanding DOD's annual readiness assessments, even Republican- led amendments to invite Taiwan into RIMPAC and bolster its energy security. These are the kinds of amendments that are aligned with the United States' interests. These are the kinds of amendments that foster deterrence, not instigate and facilitate Chinese propaganda, as this one would.

When we question our support for Taiwan outright, as this amendment does, onlookers will wonder what else are we willing to walk back on? Who else will we abandon on the line? That is not the message we should be sending. This amendment is nothing more than a political stunt that should never have seen the light of day. Beijing is watching, my friends. Passing this amendment is a win for China. Do not be fooled.

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Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. McCormick).

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Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Chair, may I inquire as to how much time I have remaining.

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Ms. TOKUDA. Mr. Chair, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from Georgia.

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Ms. TOKUDA. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Rogers).
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Ms. TOKUDA. Madam Speaker, we have heard strong voices from both sides of the aisle that this is a bad, reckless, dangerous amendment. Every dollar and day we spend supporting Taiwan is another day we keep our servicemembers, our children, and our grandchildren out of war. This is about putting Americans first.

It is a very simple decision. I ask my colleagues to vote ``no.''

Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

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Ms. TOKUDA. Madam Chair, I rise in opposition to this amendment, which would create broad exemptions from the Endangered Species Act on military and National Guard lands. In Hawaii, this would be akin to a taking.

The idea that protecting endangered species and maintaining readiness are mutually exclusive is simply false. Across the country, including in Hawaii, the Department of Defense has shown it can partner with conservation experts and local communities to safeguard fragile ecosystems while still meeting its mission.

We should be doing more to hold the Department of Defense accountable and strengthening these efforts, not giving it a blank check to disregard environmental laws whenever it claims national security.

In Hawaii, where trust around military land use is damaged, quite frankly, and lease negotiations are ongoing, accountability is not optional. A back-door taking of our lands is 100 percent unacceptable.

Allowing this amendment to pass would set a dangerous precedent, undo decades of progress, and erode community trust. Protecting our environment and ensuring national defense are not opposing goals. They are shared responsibilities that we must uphold together.

Madam Chair, I strongly urge my colleagues to reject this amendment.

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