December 17, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 204 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Pages S7086-S7087]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT

  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I know this year is rapidly coming to a 
close, and we are all anxious to join our families for the holidays.
  The impeachment frenzy, though, has almost completely engulfed the 
Capitol, particularly on the House side, for the past few months and 
has made it very difficult, if not impossible, for Congress to get much 
of its work done; hence, the last-minute rush to get things done that 
we should have done weeks and perhaps months earlier.
  One of the victims of this impeachment mania has been the National 
Defense Authorization Act, and I am glad we finally were able to pass 
that today.
  For the last 58 years, the NDAA--the national defense act--has passed 
with broad bipartisan support. But this year, things took a little 
different turn. While we maintained historical norms here in the Senate 
and passed the bill by a vote of 86 to 8, our House Democratic 
colleagues took a completely different route. They managed to come up 
with a bill that was so partisan that not a single Republican voted for 
it in the House.
  A party-line vote in the House may not be newsworthy, but a party-
line vote on the national defense authorization bill is.
  Fortunately, after months of negotiations, Senator Inhofe, chairman 
of the Armed Services Committee, and Senator Reed, the ranking member, 
were able to work with their House counterparts to reach a compromise 
on the bill, as I said, that passed earlier today.
  This legislation is vitally important because it will give our 
commanders the predictability they need, as well as the troops the 
resources they have earned.
  It also authorizes $400 million for military construction projects in 
places like Texas and 90 new F-35 Joint Strike Fighters that are made 
in Fort Worth.
  Overall, the NDAA will strengthen our national security, and it will 
benefit all of our servicemembers and their families and our military 
bases, including those in Texas.
  So I just want to say that I appreciate the hard work of Chairman 
Inhofe and Senator Reed, the ranking member, and all of our colleagues 
on the Armed Services Committee on both sides of the Capitol and look 
forward to it being signed by the President, hopefully, without further 
delay.
  This was a critical step to strengthen our Nation's military, but it 
is only part of our duty to provide our troops with the resources and 
training and the equipment they need to succeed. Now we need to take 
care of the defense appropriations bill, which has now been passed by 
the House and which will be coming over here to the Senate soon and 
which I expect we will act on by Thursday.
  Sadly, though, this has also fallen to the wayside while our 
Democratic colleagues in the House have worked tirelessly to try to 
remove the President from office. We are in the posture of having to do 
that this week only because the agreement that was made last August on 
spending caps was walked away from by our Democratic colleagues in the 
Senate, and it has taken us all this time to get back to where we 
thought we were in the August timeframe.
  Despite the deal reached over the summer to keep the appropriations 
process free from poison pill riders, our friends across the aisle have 
tried to force liberal wish list items into the bill.
  Thanks to Senator Inhofe, that has largely been avoided. I must also 
thank Mac Thornberry, the ranking member on the House side.
  We have also managed to avoid a government shutdown, but the process 
has certainly not been pretty. We have been forced to pass two short-
term funding bills, which have kept the trains running but failed to 
provide the predictability we thought we were going to get into the 
future once the 2-year budget deal was agreed upon last August.
  So I am happy in one sense that the deal was finally reached to avoid 
a government shutdown, and I am in the process of reviewing these huge 
funding packages that total about $1.4 trillion.
  Let me just say that I also appreciate the hard work of our friend 
from Alabama, Chairman Shelby, and our colleagues on the appropriations 
committees for their work to keep the doors open and to keep our 
commitments to our men and women in uniform.
  I am hopeful we will be able to act before this funding expires this 
Friday.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arizona.
  Ms. McSALLY. Mr. President, I rise today to talk about the importance 
of a vote we took earlier on the National Defense Authorization Act for 
Fiscal Year 2020.
  This bill delivers on the needs of the warfighter today and invests 
in capabilities we must have for the future.
  I also fought for and secured huge wins for the Grand Canyon State. 
As home to 10 military installations, Arizona plays a key role in many 
missions critical to our Nation's defense. Our bipartisan legislation 
highlights the incredible contributions that Arizona bases, citizens, 
and industry make to support our military each and every day.
  Since I have been in Congress, I led the fight to stop the A-10 from 
being mothballed, and this bill continues to secure resources needed to 
modernize

[[Page S7087]]

the A-10, based at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.
  We also succeeded in funding a new hangar and barracks at Marine 
Corps Air Station Yuma and additional F-35s at Luke Air Force Base and 
Yuma for training and deploying the next generation of F-35 pilots.
  I also secured funding to upgrade the Barry Goldwater training ranges 
and many other Arizona initiatives.
  The annual defense bill is about protecting the people who protect 
us. This year's bill reiterates to the men and women of our military 
that we have their backs. It provides the highest pay raise in a decade 
and protects military families from greedy contractors who provide 
their tenants dangerous and unlivable base housing. These contractors, 
who act more like slumlords than landlords, will now be required to 
implement a tenant bill of rights.
  We also give military families more power in filing disputes and fund 
additional housing office personnel to ensure families have advocates 
on base.
  I am particularly pleased to see 17 of my 18 reforms to combat sexual 
assault in the military are also included in this bill. Earlier this 
year, I disclosed that I, too, am a survivor of military sexual 
assault. After I did, I charged the top leaders at the Pentagon to 
immediately identify ways to improve the investigation process and 
support to victims.
  My provisions increased the number of personnel investigating sexual 
assault cases and ensure a victim has access to a special victims' 
counsel within 72 hours of reporting an assault. These and my other 
improvements share the goal of getting justice for victims sooner.
  The greatest disappointment in an otherwise bipartisan bill is the 
lack of backfill funding for military construction projects.
  After unprecedented obstruction by Democrats on border security 
funding, some resources were diverted to border security projects under 
authorities legally granted to the President by Congress.
  I hear from my constituents all the time in our pro-military and 
southern border State: We can and must secure our border and fund our 
military. Life is full of difficult choices. This shouldn't be one of 
them for any Member on either side of the aisle.
  The Senate voted in a landslide, bipartisan way, 86 to 8, to fund 
effective military construction projects in this bill--in the Senate 
version of this bill. Then, during conference negotiations, Democrats 
refused to fully fund these projects due to political games surrounding 
border security.
  Think about that for a minute. They didn't like the President 
diverting the resources to secure our border, so they decided to take 
it out on our military by refusing to backfill funding.
  Our military deserves better. The American people deserve better.
  Nevertheless, one of Arizona's fiscal year 2019 projects at Fort 
Huachuca was stalled for unforeseen environmental issues at the 
construction site, so it wasn't ready to spend the fiscal year 2019 
funds that we approved for it. This funding would have been diverted to 
some other purpose in any other year. It could have been funded in 
fiscal year 2020, but the Democrats refused to support that. The 
earliest the project will be ready to start is next summer.
  The Secretary of the Army has assured me that this project will be in 
the budget for fiscal year 2021, which starts 9\1/2\ months from now, 
following the completion of this environmental cleanup. I will continue 
to fight for the funding for Fort Huachuca and resolve to work hand-in-
hand with the Army until this project is complete.
  Finally, I have to note that this is the first NDAA that this body 
has passed in decades without Senator John McCain. I think I speak for 
Members of the Armed Services Committee and this entire Senate when I 
say that we have felt his absence deeply this past year. While he may 
not have been physically with us, it still has the fingerprints of his 
leadership, grit, and ultimate dedication to servicemembers and 
military families.
  His memory has propelled us to secure lasting, meaningful reforms for 
the men and women who serve, whether in uniform, as a family member, or 
in a supporting civilian role.
  This is the 59th consecutive annual defense bill that has been 
passed. It remains a shining example, for the most part, of what we can 
accomplish when we work together to protect Americans and support our 
troops.
  It was my privilege to bring home these massive wins, working with my 
colleagues on the Armed Services Committee, for our troops and for the 
great State of Arizona.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. McSALLY). The majority leader is 
recognized.

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