National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027

Floor Speech

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Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Chair, I thank the ranking member for yielding.

Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the amendments in en bloc No. 2 which would reauthorize the Defense Production Act for 5 years.

This administration has shown exactly how it intends to use the Defense Production Act authorities, to preempt State and local law, to bypass Tribal consultation, and to take equity stakes in mining companies when it benefits the administration's allies and some family members.

As a former State legislator, I am particularly concerned about the administration's weaponization of the Defense Production Act to override State and local laws, laws that are enacted to protect our communities.

The Defense Production Act is an important tool for the Department of Defense to work with our industrial base to meet our national security needs, and it does not mean Congress should reauthorize sweeping emergency powers without real guardrails.

We need language that protects Tribal consultation, prohibits the waiving of environmental law, and institutes strong oversight in anticorruption measures.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to reject this amendment. I thank the House for its patience with the issue I was having with my throat.

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