National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012

Floor Speech

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Mr. REED. Mr. President, I rise in support of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012. I wish to commend Senator Levin and Senator McCain for their leadership in bringing this piece of legislation to the floor. All my colleagues in the Armed Services Committee have done a remarkable job and have done it with great discipline and dedication and concern for the men and women of our Armed Forces and the defense of the Nation.

This is the 50th consecutive Defense authorization bill that the Senate has considered, and I hope we will soon be able to send it to the President for his signature. We owe this to our service men and women who are devoting themselves, and indeed their families also, to the protection of the United States.

We made difficult decisions in putting together this bill, especially in these challenging economic times. We were able to find $26 billion in savings from the original budget request the President submitted earlier this year. But I am confident this bill provides a budget that allows the Department of Defense to combat current threats, plan for future threats and provide for the welfare and protection of those men and women and their families who serve this Nation.

I am pleased that at the start of the debate on this important measure, that we were able to take up and pass Senator Ayotte's amendment on strategic airlift, which I was pleased to cosponsor. I was, indeed, very impressed with Senator Ayotte's thorough understanding of this issue, her ability to seize on a point and make sure it is fully understood. We were able to also bring together leaders of our services, the Department of Defense, TRANSCOM, and the Air Force, so that this decision was based on a very thorough analysis. We owe a great deal of thanks to Senator Ayotte for her extraordinary performance in this regard.

I am also working on several other amendments that would provide additional assistance, not just to the overall structure of the Defense Department but also to our military personnel. These deal with protecting the individual service men and women from exploitation by businesses and by other financial entities. We have taken some steps going forward with the creation of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Office of Service Members Affairs, headed by Holly Petraeus, but we have to do more. I hope we can in this bill.

I am also proposing amendments that would address some of the inconsistencies in the policies of National Guard dual-status technicians. A further area of concern is better coordination between the mental health care provided by the Department of Defense and the community providers, particularly for members of the National Guard and Reserve and their families. They often don't have the opportunity to be close to a major military installation and so coordination with local community providers is so critical to helping these members and their families. I hope, again, we can work together to get these provisions included in the legislation.

Let me highlight a few of the measures in the overall legislation that are very important. It authorizes a 1.6-percent across-the-board pay raise and reauthorizes over 30 types of bonuses and special pays for our men and women in uniform. This is critical in meeting the needs of our military personnel.

The legislation also authorizes the full funding of the DOD's Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle, the MRAP program, which provides for the sustainment of MRAPs and M-ATVs to protect our troops on the ground. Again, having recently returned about 3 weeks ago from Afghanistan, these are critical weapon systems. My colleagues on the committee who also frequently travel into these war zones will attest to that fact. I am pleased we included this provision in the legislation.

The proposed legislation also authorizes $11.2 billion for the Afghan Security Forces Fund to train and equip the Afghan Army and police. This is a $1.6 billion reduction from the President's request. The CENTCOM commander, General Mattis, and Lieutenant General Caldwell, who was the commander on the ground, determined that this reduction could be made because of the efficiencies being achieved by the NATO training mission in Afghanistan.

We have to be much more efficient going forward in terms of resources, and we also have to prepare for the long

term support, not alone but with our international partners, of the creation and sustainment of the Afghan National Security Forces. It represents probably the most significant component, long term, of stabilizing Afghanistan. We cannot do it alone. There has to be political will and capacity. As we develop this military force, we also have to think ahead about how we are, not alone but together with our allies, going to ensure it is properly resourced in order to be a contributing factor in the stability of Afghanistan.

This year, once again, I also had the privilege of serving as the chairman of the Seapower Subcommittee alongside Senator Wicker, whom I wish to thank for his thoughtful and significant contribution to the legislation. The Seapower Subcommittee is focused on the needs of the Navy, Marine Corps, and the strategic mobility forces. The subcommittee put particular emphasis on supporting Marine and naval forces engaged in combat operations, improving efficiencies, and applying the savings to higher priority programs.

The subcommittee specifically included requested funding for two Virginia-class submarines, the DDG-1000 Program, the Aircraft Carrier Replacement Program, the DDG-51 Aegis Destroyer Program, the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program, the LHA  Amphibious Assault Ship, the Joint High Speed Vessel, the Mobile Landing Platform, and the P-8 maritime patrol aircraft. All these weapons systems are important aspects of Navy and Marine projection power throughout the world.

I am particularly pleased, obviously, about the continued support for the Virginia-class submarine program and the DDG-1000, which are integral parts not only of our national security but of the economy of New England.

The subcommittee also included language that would require the Department of Navy to restructure plans to replace the canceled Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle system for the Marine Corps and to complete an analysis of the Amphibious Combat Vehicle alternatives before launching into a Marine Personnel Carrier acquisition program. Essentially, the Marine Corps is restudying their ability to move marines from ship to shore and then from shore inland to exploit the beachhead, and that careful study is necessary before they make a commitment for future programs for equipment.

We also included language that would permit the Navy to use multiyear procurement authority to buy common cockpits and avionic systems for the Navy's H-60 helicopters in the most efficient manner.

Let me conclude by once again thanking Senator Wicker, particularly for his help with respect to the Seapower Subcommittee, and thanking all my colleagues. I think we have a good piece of legislation before us. I hope in the process of amending it, we can improve the bill, and I look forward to sending such a bill to the President for his signature.

I yield the floor.

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