National Defense Authorization Act for FIscal Year 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, this is the final amendment to the bill. It will not delay the bill, kill the bill, or send it back to committee. If adopted, the bill will proceed immediately to final passage, as amended.

As Members of Congress, we must always honor our promises to the men and women who serve in our military. Unfortunately, I know firsthand what happens when Washington fails our troops on the battlefield and when we come home. I fought the Iraq war on the ground. I was shot at and experienced IED attacks, but because Congress didn't follow through on its promises, our vehicles didn't have the proper armor they needed. This failure cost my friends their lives. Later, when I got home, my friends and I suffered needlessly.

When my friends and I got home, we suffered needlessly because of a veterans healthcare system that was shortchanged and mismanaged. These failures of leadership are what encouraged me to run for office, to ensure that my generation of leaders takes better care of our troops than we were taken care of.

That is why I am offering this amendment. It is to make good on Congress' promise to give our military men and women a raise. The amendment will lock in a 2.3 percent increase for all of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines. Last year, one in four members of our military had to rely on food pantries and other charities just to make ends meet. That is a disgrace.

Mr. Speaker, our troops deserve a raise. My amendment does something else that is just as important. It ensures that even if Congress shuts down the Federal Government, all of our brave men and women in uniform will still get paid. Why should our servicemen and -women miss their paychecks just because we can't do our jobs?

Why am I offering this amendment now? Because Republicans don't appear to have learned the lessons of the chaos and confusion they caused by shutting down the government in 2013. Today, my Republican friends are risking another government shutdown by resorting to budget gimmicks, relying on war funding to pay for more routine operations and maintenance. That is completely irresponsible.

My Republican friends are fond of comparing the Federal budget to a family budget. Mr. Speaker, working families, military families can't rely on a special slush fund to pay for their daily expenses, and Congress should not either. We must protect our troops from the consequences of this Republican leadership's refusal to confront the realities of sequestration. That is why this amendment is so critical.

Yesterday, Speaker Boehner said voting against this bill would be shameful and that we would be turning our back on our troops. As a marine and a combat veteran, I can tell you that the Speaker is wrong. There is no shame in voting against a bill that creates uncertainty for our military and risks another dangerous government shutdown.

Mr. Speaker, the real shame would be to vote against the amendment that gives our men and women the raise and certainty they deserve.

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