Howard P. "Buck" McKeon National Defense Authorization Act For Fiscal Year 2015

Floor Speech

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Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4435, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015.

I want to begin by thanking Chairman McKeon and Ranking Member Smith for their leadership in this committee and this being truly a bipartisan effort.

This will be Chairman McKeon's last bill. He has not only been a leader for our committee and in Congress, but he has been a tremendous mentor for so many of us in Congress. His legacy will leave a lasting impact not only in legislation affecting the Department of Defense, our national security, and our men and women in uniform, but the Members of Congress who serve. And certainly, as we look to the future of the Armed Services Committee, his legacy will be in his mentoring of the other members of the committee.

I serve as chairman of the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee as well as the cochair of the Military Sexual Assault Prevention Caucus. I first want to thank the subcommittee's ranking member, Loretta Sanchez from California, for her support in completing the markup of this bill.

The committee's focus has been to support the men and women of the Armed Forces and their families, providing them the equipment they need and the support that they so deserve. This bill helps to retain defense technology superiority, sustains the defense industrial base, and maintains effective modernization for our military.

The committee bill includes additional funding for Abrams Tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, Stryker Combat Vehicles, Tactical Wheeled Vehicles, body armor, and unmanned aerial systems.

I believe the committee bill strikes the appropriate balance between equipping our military to effectively carry out its mission while also providing aggressive oversight to ensure appropriate use of taxpayers' dollars.

The bill again this year takes a significant step in combating the issue of sexual assault in the military by incorporating the FAIR Military Act of 2014, a bipartisan bill first introduced by myself and Representative Niki Tsongas.

I would like to thank Representative Tsongas, Military Personnel Subcommittee Chairman Joe Wilson, and Representative Davis, ranking member on the Personnel Subcommittee, for their leadership on this issue. I want to thank Chairman McKeon and Ranking Member Smith for their leadership that has allowed a bipartisan solution on sexual assault.

Under this bill, Congress limits the use of the ``good soldier defense,'' which allows a defendant to cite unrelated, subjective factors during trial, such as military record. It requires commanders be assessed on their ability to create a climate where a victim can report a crime without fear of retaliation. It ensures that the changes and provisions regarding military sexual assault prevention from the FY14 defense authorization apply to the military service academies.

Finally, this bill provides the child custody protections that our military men and women deserve.

I, again, want to thank Chairman McKeon for his help on protecting the custody rights of our men and women in uniform. No longer will our men and women face deployment while having to worry whether or not they have the custody of their children upon return.

I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this bill and to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 4435.

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