H.R. 1540--The National Defense Authorization for Fiscal Year 2012

Floor Speech

Mr. KELLY. Mr. Speaker, under the Constitution, Congress has the solemn responsibility to the American people ``to provide for the common defense.'' Congress exercises this responsibility through passage of H.R. 1540, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012. Three guiding principles for this legislation are discussed below.

First, the conference report for H.R. 1540 provides the members of our armed forces with all of the resources necessary to complete their missions in Iraq, Afghanistan, and around the world. The brave men and women who make up our armed forces have a high calling--to protect the American people--and it is incumbent upon us as the Congress to do everything we can to give them the resources they need to get the job done quickly and safely.

Further, this conference report provides military personnel and their families with the support that they need and which is rightfully theirs. Serving as a soldier, sailor, airman, or Marine is no ordinary job, and members of our armed forces as well as their families need to know that no matter what happens here in Washington, DC, there will be no interruption to their pay or benefits as they work night and day to keep us safe.

Lastly, this conference report provides for investment in the future of our nation's security by ensuring that our armed forces are capable of responding to the threats of today and the threats of tomorrow. Our enemies around the world are not standing still; they are actively probing for any weaknesses in our nation's defenses, and we must be vigilant in maintaining both our current capabilities and developing future capabilities. For the sake of our country and our allies who depend on us, we must sustain a strong, flexible, and effective force structure.

The conference report provides authorization for national defense spending in the following amounts: $554 billion for the base budget and $115.5 billion for overseas contingency operations, i.e. the war on terrorism. This is a significant reduction in funding from the original House-passed version to comply with the first tier of the Budget Control Act's requirement to cut defense spending by an estimated $465 billion over ten years. Specifically, this authorized funding has been reduced $19 billion from the Fiscal Year 2011 National Defense Authorization Act, $21.8 billion from the House-passed version of the Fiscal Year 2012 National Defense Authorization Act, and $24.1 billion from President Obama's budget. While our nation's economic plight has forced us all to tighten our belts, we cannot put Americans at risk by engaging in irresponsibly deep cuts to our defense spending that would hollow out our nation's military. This conference report strikes the right balance between the important priorities of reducing wasteful government spending and providing for a strong, robust, national defense.

The conference report also sets forth key policies that will help to ensure the safety of our nation and the effectiveness of our military. A few examples are discussed below.

The conference report provides for new sanctions on entities that engage in financial transactions with the Central Bank of Iran, including other state central banks. The provisions apply to the purchase of petroleum, which is of course one of Iran's key natural resources. The threat from Iran has only grown in recent weeks and months. Iran has continued its relentless drive towards developing nuclear weapons; continued its unceasing promotion of terrorism, including a brazen attempt to assassinate the Ambassador from Saudi Arabia to the United States, on American soil; sought to exert its malign influence over key countries in the region, including the nascent democracy of Iraq; and threatened America's strongest ally in the Middle East, the nation of Israel. Cutting off Iran's access to international financial transactions will help stop Iran from making progress towards any of these harmful goals.

Further, the conference report codifies conscience protections for military chaplains. Chaplains are crucial to the well-being of the members of our armed forces, who rely on them for guidance and spiritual nourishment especially when they are serving overseas. Chaplains shall never be forced to act against their consciences. Accordingly this conference report protects chaplains from being forced to perform same-sex marriages in violation of their conscience or their moral principles.

Lastly, the conference report forbids government funding from being used to transfer or release Guantanamo Bay detainees into the United States. To permit known terrorists to enter the U.S. would create an unacceptable threat to the safety of the American people and the conference report rightly prevents such an unthinkable scenario from occurring.

In short, this conference report provides crucial funding and sets forth key policies to ensure our nation's defense.

I unequivocally urge my colleagues to vote for this important legislation.

Source