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

Floor Speech

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Madam Chair, I thank the chairman.

I rise in strong support of my amendment to H.R. 4435, the FY15 NDAA, to renew a 1-year ban on the Obama administration from using any Department of Defense funds to implement the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty.

This language is identical to the version of my amendment that was enacted into law FY14 NDAA and reflects the consistent will of the American people and the unified position of Congress in opposition to this misguided and dangerous treaty.

Renewal of this ban is timely and necessary. In January, the Obama administration, unexpectedly and without consultation, issued a new arms export control policy, which has not been changed since 1995.

The administration's new policy clearly seeks to implement the ATT and is based on the most dangerous part of the treaty, the international human rights law/international humanitarian law standard, that can be readily politicized by bad actors to stop the U.S. from providing arms to our friends and allies, including Israel.

The Obama administration has been so brazen about this that, in a speech to CSIS on April 23, Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Countryman openly stated:

We're already implementing the treaty.

Amazingly, in that same speech, Mr. Countryman stated:

We don't have to change any laws to implement the treaty.

That is not up to him or the administration to decide. It is up to the Senate to provide its advice and consent on the treaty, and the House and Senate to pass the necessary implementing legislation.

This President's assertion is deeply disrespectful to the Senate and the House and to the Constitution he is sworn to uphold. I urge my colleagues to stand with me in support of the Second Amendment, our Nation's sovereignty, and vote in support of this amendment to renew the annual ban on funding the ATT.

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Madam Chair, I rise in strong support of my amendment to H.R. 4435 to express the sense of Congress against France's impending sale of Mistral class helicopter amphibious assault warships to Russia and urging the President and the Secretaries of State and Defense to seek to stop this sale.

Zoos often have signs posted that say don't feed the bears because it is just common sense. Similarly, I would like to say now, especially, don't feed the Russian bear; but with the sale of these advanced warships, France isn't just feeding the Russian bear, it is serving up fine dining on a silver plate.

A Mistral is no mere civilian hull, as France's Defense Minister claims. Just one Mistral class warship has the capacity to carry 16 helicopters, up to 700 soldiers, four landing craft, 60 armored vehicles, and 13 tanks and has the advanced communications capabilities that make it capable of operating as a command and control vessel.

France wants to send Russia two of them--Vladivostok and Sevastopol--which just happens to be the name of the naval base in Crimea, which Russia has just annexed from Ukraine.

These warships would allow the Russian navy to expands its naval presence in the region, augmenting its capabilities against Ukraine, Georgia, and Baltic members of NATO, but don't take my word for it. Admiral Vysotsky, former head of Russia's navy, boasted that Russia would have won its war against Georgia in 2008 in just 40 minutes, instead of 26 hours, if it just had these ships back then.

It makes no sense for France to provide these warships to Russia when it is occupying Georgia and amassing troops on Ukraine's border. France's support of Russia's navy is unbecoming of a close NATO ally, and it has got to stop.

I urge my colleagues to stand with me in support of this commonsense amendment for the sake of our allies and our friends in Europe.

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