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[Page H5778]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SUPPORT FOR OUR SERVICEMEMBERS IN THE NDAA
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from
California (Mr. Cisneros) for 5 minutes.
Mr. CISNEROS. Mr. Speaker, last week, we passed a National Defense
Authorization Act for fiscal year 2020. Working with my colleagues for
over 20 hours on the House Armed Services Committee to mark up this
bill in the late hours of the night and the early hours of the next day
was all worth it.
Mr. Speaker, with the passage of this year's NDAA, we have fulfilled
our duties to ensure our military's readiness, strengthened our
national security, and eased our servicemembers' transition to civilian
life.
I am proud to have helped secure 17 floor amendments for the NDAA,
with more than half of those offered on a bipartisan basis. These
provisions supported programs that are critical to servicemembers
living in the 39th Congressional District.
A major priority of mine is ensuring that our servicemembers have the
support they need when they transition back to civilian life. I was
proud to colead the bipartisan Work for Warriors provision with my
colleagues, Representatives Paul Cook, Elissa Slotkin, and Mark Takano.
The Work for Warriors model has a proven track record of helping our
veterans find jobs, providing job placement assistance to unemployed
Guardsmen, Reservists, military spouses, and veterans to not only help
them provide for their families, but also facilitate their successful
transition back to civilian life.
Another priority of mine was to improve the quality of healthcare for
servicemembers, especially mental health programs and women's
healthcare services. I am proud to have secured a number of provisions
that take care of military families by expanding military housing and
improving access to healthcare services.
Specifically, I was proud to work with Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan
to expand transition assistance for women servicemembers. This will
ensure our servicewomen are better equipped with the healthcare
resources they need as they leave military service.
Also, I am hopeful that the amendment my colleagues and I included to
address sexual assault at all levels of our military will help our
servicemembers and veterans receive the respect and justice they
deserve. The high rate of sexual assault in the military is
unacceptable and needs to be addressed immediately.
Even though DOD spends millions on sexual assault prevention
programs, the number of assaults has jumped dramatically since 2010. We
owe it to our servicemembers and veterans to determine why the current
programs have been failing, and we need to create a new, effective
approach to this problem.
Because, in exchange for their service, our Nation took on the
responsibility to care for each servicemember's health, both physical
and mental, that is why I prioritized provisions to address the suicide
epidemic currently facing our servicemembers and veterans. We are
losing servicemembers and veterans to addiction and suicide at alarming
rates. It is unacceptable that this epidemic is only getting worse.
I worked with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to secure
language that will help prevent servicemembers from reaching at-risk
status and ensure that at-risk servicemembers are identified and able
to receive the care they deserve.
Also, I am proud to have supported an amendment with Congresswoman
Jackie Speier to protect our transgender servicemembers. As a Navy
veteran, I was saddened by our government's willingness to discriminate
against individuals who had the courage, spirit, and commitment to
serve our country in uniform.
Anyone who has the bravery to serve our country should be allowed to
do so, and I stand firmly against the administration's ban on
transgender servicemembers. I will continue to fight against this
hateful and bigoted policy until the President and his administration
understand that transgender servicemembers have the right to their
dignity, and they have the right to serve.
Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the NDAA
reaffirms our constitutional authority over the use of military force.
With this provision, Congress reasserts our congressional authority and
its duty to our country and our servicemembers, and it makes clear to
the President that there is no current authorization to use military
force against Iran. We understand how Iran destabilizes the region, and
it is our responsibility in Congress to ensure that the U.S. does not
enter into a conflict without a strategy.
In closing, while I have said much on what this House has
accomplished with this bill, I would like to end with this: I thank our
servicemembers, civilian military personnel, and all the national
security professionals who support our Armed Services in my district,
in our country, and around the world. It is an honor to represent them
in Congress to ensure the promises made here are kept for our
servicemembers and our veterans.
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