June 30, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 120 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session

[Pages S3980-S3993]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          LEGISLATIVE SESSION

                                 ______
                                 

    NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021--Resumed

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will 
resume consideration of S. 4049, which the clerk will report.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 4049) to authorize appropriations for fiscal 
     year 2021 for military activities of the Department of 
     Defense, for military construction, and for defense 
     activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military 
     personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other 
     purposes.

  Pending:

       Inhofe amendment No. 2301, in the nature of a substitute.
       McConnell (for Portman) amendment No. 2080 (to amendment 
     No. 2301), to require an element in annual reports on cyber 
     science and technology activities on work with academic 
     consortia on high priority cybersecurity research activities 
     in Department of Defense capabilities.

  Mr. McCONNELL. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                   Recognition of the Minority Leader

  The Democratic leader is recognized.


                                 Russia

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, today there are thousands--thousands--
of American servicemembers in Afghanistan defending us from terrorist 
organizations and their sponsors. They are joined by servicemembers and 
support personnel from allied nations and security partners. Each one 
of these lives is precious to a nation and to a family somewhere. Each 
one of us in this Chamber recognizes the solemn duty we have to our 
servicemembers.
  We are all concerned about media reports that the Russian Government 
or its proxies has been offering bounties on the lives of American 
soldiers to Taliban-linked fighters in Afghanistan. The Associated 
Press has reported that the United States is investigating whether 
Americans died as a result of Russian bounties and is particularly 
focused on a 2019 attack that killed three U.S. marines, including one 
young man from Locust Valley, Long Island, NY, and another who worked 
as a firefighter in the FDNY--the great FDNY--for 15 years. On behalf 
of my constituents and the American people, I demand answers.
  If, in fact, Putin and his cronies have been sponsoring the murder of 
American and coalition forces in Afghanistan, there is no question 
there should be swift and severe consequences. But unlike every 
previous administration I have ever worked with, the Trump 
administration has been shockingly weak-kneed when it comes to 
authoritarian leaders like Putin. This administration appears unwilling 
to even acknowledge the gravity of the situation, unwilling to even 
express concern about these rumors and commit to investigating them.

[[Page S3981]]

  The shifting explanations from the White House about when and how the 
President learned about these reports has only added to the confusion 
and concern here on Capitol Hill. First, the President tweeted ``Nobody 
briefed me or told me'' about the reports. That is what he said: Nobody 
briefed him or told him. Then the President hinted he was aware of 
these reports but that it didn't rise to the level of an official 
briefing. The White House Press Secretary repeatedly denied that the 
President had been briefed. Then, last night, the Associated Press 
reported that President Trump had received intelligence about these 
potential bounties as early as spring of last year--the spring of last 
year.
  Out of all of those different explanations, the best case--the best 
case--for the President is that he doesn't read sensitive intelligence 
reports. You know, that is his job.
  It has been 5 days since media reports informed the world of Putin's 
alleged bounty program. What has the President done? He hasn't 
condemned it. He hasn't told servicemembers and their families he will 
make sure this alleged program is exposed and ended. He hasn't directed 
any action against Putin and his cronies whatsoever. He has done 
absolutely nothing--nothing.
  As the Commander in Chief, the President has no more serious and 
solemn duty than to do right by the Americans in uniform who protect 
our country. He is directly responsible, and must be held accountable, 
for the well-being of American servicemembers who have volunteered to 
put themselves in harm's way to protect our country. The least 
President Trump could do is promise to get to the bottom of these 
allegations and hold Putin and his cronies accountable for their 
actions. Even that--even that--seems beyond the administration's 
capabilities.
  In the short term, we need an agreement from the administration to 
conduct an immediate all-Members briefing on the reports that Russia 
placed bounties on U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Senators need to hear 
directly from CIA Director Haspel on these reports as soon as possible.


                              Coronavirus

  Madam President, the number of new COVID-19 cases is accelerating at 
an alarming rate through several States, and the economic effects of 
the pandemic continue to hammer American families and businesses across 
the country.
  Over one-fifth--one-fifth--of the workforce has requested 
unemployment assistance--one-fifth. In one month, the expanded 
unemployment benefits we passed in the CARES Act will expire. For 
millions of Americans, another rent payment is due tomorrow, and 
eviction protections will run out for these tenants in a few weeks. 
School districts are preparing for the fall without the resources or 
the guidance they need to reopen safely. Localities are preparing for 
the 2020 general election and need Federal resources to hold safe 
elections. Even the popular and bipartisan Paycheck Protection Program 
runs out of lending authority today, with over $130 billion in 
remaining funds, while so many small businesses continue to struggle. 
They have $130 billion sitting there. The program runs out today, and 
our Republican colleagues are doing nothing.
  There are so many urgent priorities that require our attention here, 
but the Senate Republican majority has been ignoring them. Instead of 
working in a bipartisan way to reform police departments across the 
country, Senate Republicans dropped an inadequate partisan bill on the 
floor. After it failed, the Republicans didn't seem eager to start the 
bipartisan negotiations we need to get progress back on track.
  Instead of spending the last 45 days working with Democrats on 
legislation to address the public health and economic crises Americans 
are facing due to the coronavirus pandemic, Republicans just sat on 
their hands. In fact, Leader McConnell seems dead set on delaying any 
COVID-19 relief until after the Fourth of July holiday, and even then, 
he said he wants to assess the conditions in the country before taking 
action.
  We just can't wait for our Republican colleagues to wake up to the 
reality in this country. People are losing their homes. People are not 
being fed. People are losing their jobs. Small businesses are closing. 
COVID-19 is spreading.
  The Republican majority does nothing. It sits on its hands. The best 
it says, in the voice of the leader: Let's assess the situation.
  What more do we need to assess? The American people don't need an 
assessment. They want action--action. It is amazing. We cannot wait--
the country cannot wait--for our Republican colleagues to wake up to 
the reality.
  Senate Democrats are forcing action on the floor this week on a 
number of crucial issues. Last night, Democrats asked our colleagues to 
pass emergency funding for State, local, and Tribal governments that 
are finalizing their budgets today and may be forced to cut vital 
services and lay off teachers, firefighters, and other public 
employees. Senate Republicans, however, have blocked our bill.
  Hopefully, our Republican colleagues will not be so hasty to reject 
our attempt to start work on several other urgent priorities this week. 
Today, Democrats will come to the floor to ask this body to take up 
legislation on safe elections, led by my colleague Senator Klobuchar; 
education funding, led by my colleague Senator Murray; and funding for 
our nursing homes, championed by Senator Casey. All three will ask 
unanimous consent requests. Will our Republican friends block action 
once again as the country suffers, as the economy continues to decline, 
as more people get sick, and more people die?

  These are not abstract issues--not at all. This is about parents 
making sure their kids safely continue their education. This is about 
making sure elderly relatives are healthy and safe and properly cared 
for. This is about making sure that, when it comes time to vote, every 
American can exercise the franchise without worrying about getting 
sick.
  The need for these pieces of legislation is beyond dispute. When most 
Republicans back home are asked if we should do these things, they want 
us to do them.
  We have only a few days to go before the Senate adjourns for the next 
State work period. If Republicans continue to block reasonable attempts 
at passing COVID-19 legislation, they will have to go home and explain 
why to their constituents. Americans are tired of waiting for the 
Republican Senate to ``feel the urgency of acting immediately.'' We 
have a chance tonight to accomplish what should have been done months 
ago and pass three important bills to ensure that our schools, our 
elections, and our nursing homes get the support they desperately need.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                    Remembering Stanley R. Balzekas

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, in the course of America's immigration 
history, there have emerged leaders whose names are synonymous with the 
struggle and triumph of these immigrants. Stanley Balzekas was that 
leader for Lithuanian Americans, especially in the city of Chicago.
  Stanley was my friend. His devotion to Lithuania, to America, and to 
the cause of human freedom and dignity was legendary. Whether you 
bumped into him on the streets of Vilnius or Pulaski Road, he always 
had a smile and story to share. He was as gracious and as comfortable 
with the Chicago hotdog salesmen as he was with heads of state.
  He died last week, passing peacefully at his home at the age of 95. 
As his family said in his obituary: ``His failing heart could no longer 
keep up with his zest for life.''
  What a heroic heart he had. Stanley Balzekas was a decorated war hero 
in World War II, one of the thinning ranks of the Greatest Generation. 
He joined the U.S. Army in 1943 and served in the infantry. He fought 
in key battles, including the Battle of the Bulge and the Battle of 
Huertgen Forest, for which he was awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple 
Heart for rescuing 12 wounded soldiers.
  He landed at Normandy and marched with other U.S. soldiers under the 
Arc de Triomphe and along the Champs-Elysees to celebrate the 
liberation of

[[Page S3982]]

Paris from Nazi occupation. He was captured by a Waffen SS unit in 
France in February 1945 and spent four months as a POW at a camp in 
Germany. There, he was brutally mistreated, starved, and lost half of 
his body weight.
  After the war, he returned to Chicago and earned a bachelor's degree 
and master's degree from DePaul University and joined his father 
running the family business, Balzekas Motor Sales, which was run 
continuously by the family from 1919 until 2009.
  Stanley's father emigrated from Lithuania to the United States in 
1912. He grew up in Marquette Park, in Beverly, the heart of Chicago's 
Lithuanian community. His father made the leap from a butcher shop to 
start an auto dealership in 1919. Over the years they sold many models 
of cars, from Hupmobiles to Chryslers. The Balzekas name became 
synonymous with Lithuanian entrepreneurship. Young Stanley was at his 
father's side during the formative years and after he returned from 
World War II.
  Next to his success in business, Stanley Balzekas' most lasting gift 
to Chicago is the Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture, which he and 
his wife Irene founded in 1956 in a building next to the family car 
dealership. The mid-1960s, when Stanley opened the Balzekas Museum, 
were some of the darkest days in the Cold War. Lithuania, once a 
massive medieval empire that stretched from the Black Sea to the Baltic 
Sea, was then an occupied state within the old Soviet Union, and the 
USSR did all it could to erase the Lithuanians' sense of their own 
history and culture. Stanley and Irene Balzekas founded the museum to 
help preserve that history and culture and, equally important, to 
advance the cause of Lithuanian independence.

  Chicago was the perfect city for their cultural jewel. It is the most 
Lithuanian city outside of Lithuania, and a sister city to the 
Lithuanian capital of Vilnius. Nearly one in eight Lithuanian 
Americans, including this Senator, calls Illinois home. In fact, Valdas 
Adamkus, the third person to serve as President of a free and 
democratic Lithuania after it won its independence from the USSR, lived 
for many years in the city of Chicago.
  The Balzekas Museum's collection started with Baltic amber jewelry 
and Stanley's own considerable collection of East European military 
antiques. Over the years, it became a trove of Lithuanian and Eastern 
European books, maps, and artifacts, and one of the most respected 
ethnic museums in Chicago, if not the Nation. One of its prized 
possessions was a map from 1430 which showed the Lithuanian Empire 
stretching across Eastern Europe.
  Stanley spent hours and hours reading letters and examining every 
artifact anyone would send to him at the museum. When someone else 
might view something as just an old handkerchief, Stanley would 
recognize the family's last treasured link to an ancestral homeland--a 
treasure worth saving.
  But Stanley Balzekas and the museum did not just catalog and preserve 
history. They helped to make history. On March 11, 1990, Lithuania 
declared its independence--the first Soviet republic to do so. Nine 
months later, in January 1991, Soviet troops and tanks rolled into 
Vilnius to crush the uprising. People from all over Lithuania rushed to 
Vilnius to defend the Seimas, their Parliament. Hoping to keep the 
defenders of a Lithuanian democracy and the world in the dark, the 
Soviet Government blocked all TV transmissions from and within 
Lithuania. But nearly 4,700 miles away, there was a fax machine in the 
Balzekas Museum humming a lifeline for the Lithuanian's resistance, 
allowing freedom's defenders in Vilnius to tell their story to the 
world and, in return, to learn that the world stood by their side in 
defense of their cause. That vital connection to the outside world may 
have influenced the Soviet Union's surprise decision to withdraw its 
tanks from the small democracy in the Baltics.
  In January 2011, I had the great honor of addressing the Lithuanian 
Seimas, or Parliament, on the 20th anniversary as a free and democratic 
republic. I turned to Stanley Balzekas and his daughter-in-law to help 
translate parts of my speech into Lithuanian. He wasn't just a friend; 
Stanley was my teacher.
  In the mid-1980s, the Balzekas Museum moved from its original home to 
the West Lawn neighborhood, on the Southwest Side of Chicago. It 
expanded its vision to become a place where Chicago's many ethnic 
communities are celebrated.
  Stanley Balzekas never stopped thinking about how to create goodwill 
and understanding. One of his last projects was to turn a small vacant 
lot near the museum into a park, which he christened ``Love and Respect 
Park.'' The centerpiece of that park is a young tree, grown from a 
cutting taken from the nearly 1,500-year-old oak tree, the oldest in 
Lithuania. He hoped its shade would provide comfort to all who call 
Chicago home for generations to come.
  Stanley Balzekas was honored in life by many civic organizations. He 
received the highest honors offered by the State of Illinois and the 
Republic of Lithuania. His passing was mourned by the President of 
Lithuania and by friends too numerous to count.
  Irene, the love of his life, died many years ago, but Loretta and I 
wish to extend our deep condolences to Stan's children: Stanley III, 
Robert, Carole, and their spouses, to Stanley's six grandchildren, and 
to his friends in Chicago and around the globe.
  I will close with one last story about my friend. Over the years, 
Stanley Balzekas must have been photographed thousands of times with 
famous leaders or with family friends. He used to tell people jokingly 
that the key to taking a good photo was to ``always stand in the 
center, that way an editor can't crop you out.''
  Stanley, my friend, from your days as a young GI to your final days 
on Earth, you were never afraid to stand in the center of life itself. 
Your place in history will not be erased. And thanks in part to your 
efforts, Lithuania's proud history and culture were made an inspiring 
part of the world's story.
  Aciu, my friend. May you rest in peace.


                         Remembering Art Berman

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I would like to take a moment to say 
farewell to a good man who taught me a great deal about what it means 
to be a public servant.
  Art Berman was a respected attorney, a community leader and the 
longest serving Democratic State legislator in my State. He represented 
the North Side of Chicago in the Illinois General Assembly for 31 
years, until his retirement in 2000.
  He was known as ``the education senator'' for his decades-long 
commitment to see that every child in Illinois could attend a good 
school and make the most of his or her God-given abilities.
  He died earlier this month, June 6, at his home in Chicago. He was 
85.
  I first came to know Art Berman in Springfield, our State capitol, 
when he was serving in the Illinois House of Representatives and I was 
a young committee staffer, just starting out.
  He was thoughtful, fair, and kind. I never heard him say a bad word 
about anyone. He regarded public service as a high honor and a joy. He 
seemed to radiate happiness.
  He was a patient man, but you would be wrong to mistake his patience 
for passivity. He was tenacious in the pursuit of justice and the 
common good.
  He entered politics as a Chicago precinct captain when he was just 20 
years old. He was elected to the Illinois House in 1969, and in 1977, 
he moved to the State Senate, where he served until he stepped down in 
2000.
  All told, he won 22 elections for public office and never lost once.
  He was a skilled legislator and a persuasive speaker who chose to use 
those gifts to help, more than anyone, the public school children of 
Chicago and Illinois. In both the Illinois House and Senate, he rose to 
chair the education committees.
  He didn't champion trivial matters. Over three decades in 
Springfield, he sought to correct one of the toughest, most intractable 
problems in all of public education: unequal funding of public schools.
  The problem was this: Illinois, like all States, relies heavily on 
local property taxes to fund public schools. Districts with higher 
property values bring in more tax revenues, which enables them to 
provide higher funding for public schools.
  As a result, the wealthiest districts in many States spend twice as 
or much

[[Page S3983]]

or more to educate each pupil than do the poorest districts.
  Art Berman worked to end this inequity. Our State's landmark 2017 
school funding reform bill, the Invest in Kids Act, owes much to his 
long years of advocacy.
  When State funding for special education was imperiled, Art Berman 
rallied support to save it.
  He helped make Chicago public schools more effective and more 
democratic through the creation of local school councils.
  In 1990, he sponsored a bill that made Illinois the first State in 
the Nation to mandate teaching about the Holocaust as part of World War 
II history.
  Every member of the Illinois General Assembly is allowed to nominate 
two worthy students each year to receive college tuition scholarships.
  After Art's passing, his children were touched to hear from so many 
now accomplished men and women who told them, ``I could never have gone 
to college without your father's support.''
  At the core of his commitment to public school students was a deep 
appreciation for the difference that Chicago public schools had made in 
his own life.
  He was the eldest of three boys born to a mother who was raised on 
the West Side of Chicago and a father who immigrated to Chicago, alone, 
at the age of 17 from a land that was then known as Palestine. Today, 
it is Israel.
  His father found work with a Chicago bookbinding company. Some years 
later, when the owner retired, Art's father and a partner bought the 
company.
  Art and his two brothers all attended Chicago public schools. He 
graduated from Senn High School and went on to earn degrees from the 
University of Illinois and Northwestern University School of Law.
  Like a true Chicagoan, Art Berman loved the ``Da Bears.'' He also 
loved playing tennis. Up until about 2 years ago, if you asked how his 
tennis game was, he would smile and say proudly, ``Still playing 
singles,'' and it was the truth.
  More than anything, Art Berman loved his family. Loretta and I send 
our condolences to Barbara, Art's beloved wife; to his two children, 
Adman Berman and Marcy Berman Padorr and their spouses; and to Art's 
five grandchildren.
  May they find comfort in this sad time, and may his memory always be 
a blessing.


                             The Heroes Act

  Madam President, I listened to the statements made this morning by 
the Republican and Democratic Senate leaders about the job ahead.
  I think it goes without saying that we are still in the midst of a 
health crisis and an economic crisis in this country. We did respond. 
We responded on March 26 in the Senate with the CARES Act. It was a 
bipartisan measure, a measure that engaged the leaders of the House and 
the Senate, Democrats, Republicans, Mr. Mnuchin, and the White House.
  In 8 days, we crafted a measure that may be one of the costliest 
individual measures ever passed by the Senate--some $3 trillion. It was 
an enormous investment in America, but it was desperately needed. It 
was, of course, crafted in a way to provide help for research and 
medical care, but also to invest in the people of America.
  We understood then, and I hope we still do, that small businesses 
struggling to reopen and struggling to survive need a helping hand, and 
we provided it with the Paycheck Protection Program. Hundreds of 
billions of dollars were loaned to these businesses, which can be 
forgiven if, in fact, they invest in their employees and in coming back 
to life after the end of this crisis.
  An equally important, if not more important, investment was 
unemployment benefits. There are now some 30 million unemployed 
Americans, one of the highest numbers in modern history. We know that 
unemployment brings with it hardship, sacrifice, and challenge.
  That is why we included in the original bill, the CARES Act, a 
Federal supplement to unemployment benefits of $600 a week. Some came 
to the floor and argued that it was too much money, that we would be 
giving people so much money that they would never want to return to 
work. I disagreed with that conclusion. I believe most people in 
America are proud and determined to get back on their feet and don't 
want to find themselves dependent on others. They want to be 
independent. I believe that, ultimately, they will be.
  For the time being, we need to stand with these families to make sure 
they can pay their mortgages and keep their homes and not lose their 
lifetime investment, to make certain that they can pay the basics in 
life, food and utility bills, the needs for clothing and education for 
their children.
  On July 31, in just a few days, that unemployment program will 
expire. Speaker Nancy Pelosi passed a bill 4 weeks ago called the 
Heroes Act--a $3 trillion bill--and it has languished here in the 
Senate. When Senator McConnell was asked if he would call up this bill, 
he said that he didn't feel there was any urgent need to do so. I hope 
that Senator McConnell now feels a sense of urgency.
  He came to the floor this morning and characterized the House effort 
of a month ago, the Heroes Act, as unserious, a political wish list, 
and that people were laughing at how unrealistic it was. Many people 
may have laughed at our original effort at $3 trillion, but it was 
desperately needed, as is a second effort as soon as possible.
  Senator McConnell said this morning that when we return in 2 weeks, 
his priorities will be to focus on kids, jobs, and healthcare. I 
couldn't agree with him more. Many of the aspects of the Heroes Act 
that passed the House addressed those very subjects. If you want to 
take care of the kids of America, take care of their parents who are 
unemployed and make certain that they have unemployment assistance. 
Make certain their COBRA benefits are paid for by the government so 
they can maintain their health insurance at this time of health crisis. 
If you want to make sure that the kids of America have a fighting 
chance and that we create jobs, provide money to State and local 
governments.
  I am reminded this morning of how many people we call healthcare 
heroes are actually employees of State and local governments who are 
risking their lives to fight this pandemic every single day. When the 
bill that passed the House of Representatives dedicated money for that 
purpose, it was money to invest in kids, in jobs, and in healthcare--
the three priorities announced by Senator McConnell. His notion that we 
owe nothing to these State and local units of government is to ignore 
the obvious. Their alternative will be to lay off teachers, nurses, 
healthcare professionals--people who are desperately needed for us to 
resume the normal activities of this American economy.

  I also hope that Senator McConnell will be open to the suggestion of 
providing additional funds to our hospitals across America. I know what 
is going on in Illinois, and I have read what is going on in his State 
of Kentucky. Hospitals, which are the major employers in many small 
communities, are laying off dozens--if not hundreds--of employees 
because of the state of the economy and because of the healthcare 
challenge. Hospitals in downstate Illinois constantly have ads on the 
radio and TV, saying it is safe to go back to your hospital for 
elective surgery and outpatient care, and because people are still 
reluctant to do so in my part of the world, they are withholding the 
funds that could be paid to those hospitals for the care that people 
need. We have to see that change. We have to restore confidence not 
only in our economy but, first, in the state of healthcare in America. 
We need to move on this.
  Senator McConnell has said the House of Representatives doesn't meet 
as frequently as the U.S. Senate, and that may have been true over the 
last several months. Let me remind him that we are in a period of time 
when we are all discouraged from travel that is unnecessary and when we 
are all told to be careful where we are going, when we are going, and 
not to gather in groups that might be a danger with the pandemic that 
we face.
  The House of Representatives has produced dramatically more 
legislation than the U.S. Senate over the last year and few months in 
so many different areas, which we will highlight during the remainder 
of this week. The House of Representatives has sent legislation

[[Page S3984]]

to the Republican leader, Senator McConnell, which he has ignored.
  For you to come to the floor and then criticize the House for not 
being in session enough, what is the point, Senator McConnell? They 
have passed legislation that you have put in the legislative graveyard 
in the U.S. Senate. You will not even take it up to debate it.
  We are on this inexorable path to fill every judicial vacancy with 
people who are thinly qualified, if qualified at all, for lifetime 
appointments so long as they meet the Republicans' political ideology 
test. That is what we spend our days and weeks doing here in the U.S. 
Senate instead of addressing issues of substance like this pandemic and 
the economic crisis our Nation faces.
  I want to address the issue of liability, too, because Senator 
McConnell brought it up again this morning. He basically said that he 
wants to protect those who are engaged in dealing with the public from 
liability for their actions. He said that, if they live up to what he 
called the best available guidelines, they should be spared any 
liability for their actions.
  Let me just tell you that I don't know what the best available 
guidelines might be, but the best available guidelines should be a 
pronouncement by our healthcare experts as to what makes for a safe 
workplace and what makes for a safe retail establishment. If the owner 
is living up to those standards, yes, I agree with him that it should 
be a valid defense for anyone who suggests wrongdoing. Yet, at this 
moment, the Republicans cannot have it both ways. They cannot argue 
that we should give immunity to businesses if they live up to some 
guidelines and not tell us where those guidelines originate and whether 
they are based on science and public health standards. If they are, 
they can be taken seriously. If they are not, then this is an empty 
promise--a promise at the expense of customers and employees who still 
show up for work.
  We have a lot of work to do. We will finish up this week and be gone 
for 2 weeks. Then, in the 3 weeks or 4 weeks when we return before the 
August recess, we will have a responsibility to not only deal with the 
economic crisis facing America but to take this healthcare crisis 
seriously. The other day, Dr. Fauci said we were not in a second peak 
in terms of infection. He believed we were still reaching the first 
peak, which means there are many challenges ahead.
  It is time for us all to get serious. It is time for the President to 
slap on a mask and to stop with this colossal ego of his that will not 
let him be seen with a mask. If he would do this today--put on a mask--
it would be a message to his loyalists that defying this basic 
protection of the people around you is simply not smart but arrogant in 
its approach. We need to have some humility here. This virus is on the 
attack and doesn't care what political party you belong to. So I 
encourage the President to put on a mask once and for all.
  Don't be the last American to ignore the obvious
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that 
the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.


                                S. 4049

  Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Madam President, in America, we are blessed 
with the protection of the strongest military in the world, one that 
provides not only for the safety of our country but believes in 
supporting our allies around the globe. Yet we cannot take our position 
as the leader of the free world for granted, for there are nations like 
Communist China that are actively building their militaries with a 
single goal in mind--to dominate the world stage.
  So I thank Chairman Inhofe and my colleagues for working to keep our 
military strong so it can defend the freedoms we cherish and stand for 
freedom and democracy worldwide.
  This year, the National Defense Authorization Act includes my Secure 
U.S. Bases Act, which Senator Ernst and I worked on, to reform and 
improve foreign military student training programs following the 
terrorist attack at NAS Pensacola last year.
  New reports show there was a lack of vetting at multiple levels that 
led to this tragic attack. This terrorist should never have been 
allowed in our country, let alone on an American military base, with 
easy access to American military men and women. The Secure U.S. Bases 
Act eliminates this unnecessary risk by requiring a thorough vetting 
process before a foreign student enters the U.S.; by requiring foreign 
students to follow rules established by U.S. base commanders; and by 
vastly improving the security of our military installations, 
servicemembers, their families, and the surrounding communities.
  I served in the U.S. Navy, and I could never have imagined not 
feeling safe on base. We must do everything in our power to prevent a 
tragedy like that of NAS Pensacola from ever happening again, and the 
Secure U.S. Bases Act is an important step.
  I am also working on a number of amendments to the National Defense 
Authorization Act to protect our Nation.
  The first includes my American Security Drone Act, which prohibits 
the U.S. Government from purchasing drones manufactured in countries 
identified as national security threats, like Iran and China. We know 
Communist China steals our technology and intellectual property; yet 
the U.S. Government continues to buy with American tax dollars critical 
technology, like drones, from Chinese companies that are backed by 
their government. No one in America should buy products made in 
Communist China, especially not the U.S. Government. We cannot continue 
this practice, and my American Security Drone Act is a commonsense 
solution to end this threat to our national security.
  Second, I am working to protect Florida's gulf coast from offshore 
drilling. I have an amendment in the National Defense Authorization Act 
that requires the Department of Defense to report on the importance of 
the Gulf Test Range, which is used for vital military testing and 
training and is critical to our national security. Offshore drilling in 
the area would pose a significant risk to the environment and our 
military preparedness.
  I am also proposing an amendment to extend the moratorium on offshore 
drilling for another 10 years and will keep working to protect our 
natural resources for generations to come.
  A strong defense is key to protecting the freedoms that make America 
great. I will never lose sight of one of the most important roles I 
have as a U.S. Senator to protect and serve the families of our Nation.
  I look forward to working closely with my colleagues to make sure we 
are protecting our national security and investing in America's 
greatest assets--the men and women of our Armed Forces.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, I want to begin by saying thank you 
to my colleague from Florida who is doing so much good work on the 
Armed Services Committee, and I also thank Chairman Inhofe and other 
members of the committee who have made it a priority to be certain that 
our men and women in uniform are well cared for and their families are 
protected and that we are thinking toward the future as we look at this 
year's NDAA.
  As we have gone through this year's NDAA drafting process with a 
unique frame of reference, the effects of the COVID pandemic have made 
our national security, our supply chain, our reach and development 
vulnerabilities national news.
  I think they have shifted somewhat the focus that the American people 
have had, and I can't remember a time when I have had so many 
Tennesseans contacting my office asking questions about our critical 
infrastructure supply chain: How are we protecting ourselves and how do 
we look at what is transpiring in our Nation and globally to consider 
how we best protect ourselves and defend this Nation? The fallout from 
the pandemic has highlighted the need for our Armed Forces to reassert 
themselves globally.

[[Page S3985]]

  The proposed 2021 NDAA that we are gathered on the floor this morning 
to discuss and to show our support for this legislation and for its 
funding will do some critical things.
  The newly created Pacific Deterrence Initiative will enhance U.S. 
global leadership and devote needed attention and resources to 
multinational fusion centers in the Indo-Pacific, where we can work 
with our allies and partners to reduce the threat of Chinese 
aggression. And that is something that through COVID, through the way 
China has stolen our intellectual property--this has come to the 
forefront.
  Just having the presence will not be enough. If we don't focus on 
innovation as an essential element of our national security, we will 
fall behind. It is imperative that we continue to lead in technology, 
in research and development, in making certain that the 21st century is 
going to be a century of freedom.
  In this year's NDAA, we prioritized education. The proposed package 
includes funding for JROTC educational opportunities in STEM fields. I 
will tell you, in Tennessee, we have the Dobyns-Bennett High School in 
Kingsport, TN. They are continuing great work in these JROTC programs.
  We are also going to invest in collaborative research between 
academia and military. Programs like Pathfinder Air Assault will 
strengthen our Armed Forces against dangerous adversaries like China, 
Iran, and Russia--all part of the new ``axis of evil.''
  I am thrilled to see what researchers at the University of Tennessee, 
University of Memphis, and Vanderbilt University will do with this 
opportunity.
  We are also going to take all of the progress we have made in 
cybersecurity and bring it on home to our State and local governments. 
National Guard cybersecurity assistance programs will improve homeland 
security at every level of government by leveraging Department of 
Defense resources against foreign adversaries.
  Last but not least, I want to highlight the inclusion of language 
that will secure American supply chains by requiring a percentage of 
critical technologies to be manufactured and assembled in the United 
States or an ally country.
  All these items appear right alongside more funding for a better 
quality of life for our military families.
  We will also be seeing more Chinooks flying home to Fort Campbell, 
TN, and investing in practical improvements on our military bases.
  Ours is the kind of freedom that is always in danger of extinction 
but always worth protecting, and with this bill, I believe we have 
ensured that our best first line of defense has the ability to do so.
  We thank our military men and women
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Loeffler). The Senator from West 
Virginia.
  Mrs. CAPITO. Madam President, I would like to thank my colleagues 
from Florida and from Tennessee for their great service to our Armed 
Forces and our Armed Services and great support. I enjoyed hearing 
Senator Blackburn from Tennessee talk about her Tennesseans.
  I stand before you with my colleagues today to talk about the NDAA 
and how important it is to pass the National Defense Authorization Act.
  My State of West Virginia has some of the highest rates of veteran 
population. About 10 percent of our population are veterans, and 
nationally that average is only 7, so I think that service in the 
military and taking care of our military has always been a source of 
very much importance to me as their representative here in the 
Congress.
  I think we can all agree that our Armed Forces would not be what they 
are without the great service of our patriotic men and women in our 
All-Volunteer Force. That is why it is important that we continue to 
support them and the work that they do to protect our freedoms every 
single day.
  This important legislation does just that by authorizing vital 
resources for our Nation's troops, our wounded warriors, and their 
families.
  The Defense bill also includes programs which will directly impact 
the West Virginia National Guard. I have had the chance to regularly 
meet with servicemembers in my State and abroad, and I have enjoyed 
personally being able to thank them.
  Most recently, I traveled to Afghanistan, where I met a unit from 
West Virginia. During my visit with our West Virginia servicemembers 
and others, they shared with me their great pride, not just for our 
State and our country, and why they are proud to defend our freedoms.
  I have also had the chance to hear many of the challenges that they 
face on a day-to-day basis. The feedback has been so helpful to 
Congress as we better support our military.
  These brave men and women deserve our unified support, and I think 
they will get it, and should not be subject to the gridlock that has 
become so common in this body and certainly in Washington, DC. That is 
why Congress has come together for the 60th year to pass a bipartisan 
bill.
  The NDAA authorizes $740.5 billion in funding for the Department of 
Defense and national security programs to ensure that our military 
families are modernized and well equipped to handle the constant, 
evolving national security threats.
  The NDAA also designates the necessary funds to provide our Active-
Duty servicemembers, veterans, and their families with the resources 
they have earned with their dedication and support.
  Another way that the NDAA looks out for our troops and their families 
is that it authorizes a 3-percent raise for our soldiers. This comes 
less than a year after a 3.1-percent raise for our servicemembers, 
which was the largest in a decade. Given the fact that our military is 
an All-Volunteer Force, it is important that we make it known that 
sacrifices do not go unnoticed. That is just one small way we can do 
that.
  The NDAA makes sure our military is trained and equipped to protect 
this country. We accomplish this in the bill by continuing to carry out 
the plans highlighted in the national defense strategic plan, which 
stresses that the United States strives for superiority on land, on the 
seas, in the air, and in cyberspace.
  The NDAA advances the DOD's cybersecurity strategies and cyber combat 
capabilities and enhances U.S. security efforts by countering 
competition from near-peer adversaries like Russia and China and 
defeating threats from rogue regimes like Iran and North Korea.
  I have had multiple conversations with the West Virginia National 
Guard on their desire to play a larger role in cyber defense. The NDAA 
establishes a National Guard cyber pilot which will allow National 
Guard men and woman to do just that
  I know many members of our West Virginia National Guard who would 
jump at the opportunity to defend against cyber attacks will be excited 
to learn about the pilot program.
  With technological advances, we are becoming increasingly reliant on 
critical minerals, particularly rare earth elements, which are 
predominantly produced in China. If you look at a chart of where they 
are produced, it is eye-popping.
  I am pleased that the base text of the NDAA included a priority of 
mine, which is to require DOD to submit a report to Congress concerning 
the security of the domestic supply chain of rare earth elements.
  West Virginia University has figured out how to extract these 
elements from acid mine drainage, which would hopefully reduce our need 
to purchase these from China.
  WVU is also a leader in looking into ways to advance our country's 
rare element capabilities, which is why it is critical for the DOD to 
begin to assess the security and best storage practices for these 
elements so that they can began to ramp up the domestic supply chain.
  Additionally, I am hoping that the two additional amendments that I 
put forward can be added to this bill because they will directly impact 
my State.
  The first is the one that would require the DOD to submit a report to 
Congress on the stockpiling of PFOS--the chemical PFOS--to build upon 
the progress we made last year in regard to this chemical.
  The second amendment I worked on with my colleague Senator Moran was 
to ensure that mothers-to-be who are

[[Page S3986]]

members of the National Guard are compensated and receive retirement 
credits for the missing drill weekends that they have missed because of 
maternity leave.
  With West Virginia's strong history of military service, caring for 
America's service men and women could not be more important.
  During the COVID-19 pandemic, the members of the West Virginia 
National Guard and every other National Guard across this country have 
stepped up and gone above and beyond the duty.
  The NDAA will make sure that those who have responded to this 
pandemic receive the health benefits they deserve.
  While I believe we must put our Nation on a sound fiscal path to end 
our dependence on deficit spending, it is equally important to maintain 
our military readiness and provide necessary resources to those who 
serve our Nation.
  I want to thank my colleagues and Chairman Inhofe for their excellent 
work on the NDAA. This is an important bill--a must-pass bill--and I 
look forward to working with my colleagues on doing just that.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Mississippi.
  Mr. WICKER. The Senator from West Virginia is absolutely correct. 
This is a must-pass bill, and I am delighted to join her and the 
Senator from Tennessee, who spoke before her, in pointing out some of 
the very positive aspects of this bipartisan bill.
  Isn't it refreshing that this last piece of legislation that this 
body will consider before the Independence Day break this weekend is a 
truly bipartisan tradition that we have had in the Senate and something 
we can be proud of and should try to replicate on other legislation.
  I want to take my hat off to Chairman Jim Inhofe, the chairman of the 
Senate Armed Services Committee, and the ranking Democrat, Jack Reed, 
for their patriotism, for their cooperation in putting together a 
product that garnered almost unanimous support in the Armed Services 
Committee and will undoubtedly pass overwhelmingly, I would say, with 
90-plus votes on floor of the U.S. Senate.
  The NDAA is a critical part of keeping this Nation safe. It is a 
critical part of giving our service men and women the training, the 
equipment, and the resources they need. And it is a critical part of 
building on what has become a 3-year process of restoring some of the 
confidence and restoring the building from some of the cuts that we 
have had over time in our military spending.
  We need to continue expanding our military and making sure that we 
can meet the threats, and particularly, as a former chairman of the 
Seapower Subcommittee, we need to keep expanding and building on the 
progress we have made in our Navy to meet the threat from China and to 
meet the threat from other adversaries we have.
  Also, I would point out that the NDAA, which is before us for a vote 
and which we will undoubtedly pass before July 4, will go a long way to 
steadying the funding we need to respond to the COVID-19 virus. It has 
affected our economy, but it has also affected our ability to maintain 
our supply chain and to defend the Nation.
  I want to thank the Senator from Tennessee for pointing out the plus-
ups that we have been able to do in this year's bill and previous bills 
for Junior ROTC. Junior ROTC is a fantastic way to build character and 
build ability and education in our high school students. If you take a 
school that is fortunate enough to have one of these programs, the 
statistics are absolutely astounding. Students in a school that 
participates in Junior ROTC consistently statistically have better 
grades, fewer dropouts, and there is a better graduation rate and there 
is higher postsecondary participation among the small set of people 
within a school who participate in Junior ROTC. So I want to thank the 
bipartisan leadership of our committee for continuing to build and 
expand this program.
  I would echo what the Senator from Tennessee said about high schools 
within her State that have the Junior ROTC Program. I have visited 
these programs in the State of Mississippi. They work, and they are 
good. They are not only good for national defense, they are just good 
for America and for citizenship.
  I want to particularly mention what this bill before us does with 
regard to shipbuilding and military aircraft manufacturing and why that 
is so important.
  This year's NDAA would restore funding for American ships after a dip 
we have had to experience because of budget constraints. I would point 
out that this bill authorizes the money; this bill does not appropriate 
a single penny. That will be left up to us to take the product from the 
Appropriations Committee. If we are able to spend the money that is 
authorized, here is what we are going to end up with by the end of the 
year: It would fund seven new battle force ships. It would authorize 
four new amphibious assault ships, which, of course, will be built in 
our American shipyards, some of them in my home State of Mississippi.
  It is worth mentioning to my colleagues that we had wonderful news 
yesterday that the Navy will build an additional destroyer in 
Pascagoula, MS, and that destroyer will be named after our former 
colleague, the late Senator Thad Cochran, a Navy veteran himself and a 
longtime chairman of the Appropriations Committee. These projects would 
bring our Navy closer to the total of 355 ships, which is part of the 
requirement we get from our admirals and generals around the world who 
tell us on an objective basis what we need to keep this Nation safe. 
They have given us a requirement of 355. If we actually went back to 
them today and had them reassess that number--and they may be doing 
that right now--they would probably tell us that number is over 355.
  What we did when I was chairman of the Seapower Subcommittee was put 
that requirement of 355 in the statute. It is not a sense-of-the-Senate 
or a sense-of-the-Congress. We built it into the statute, made it the 
law of the land, and 355 ships is where we need to be if we want to 
protect the United States of America.
  We have had this dip in military manufacturing that affects both 
ships and aircraft manufacturing, and I would just point out that we 
are going to need to restore that dip outside of the regular 
appropriations process. I would commend to my colleagues the 
possibility of putting the job-creation part of this equation in phase 
4 of our COVID-19 response bill, which I think will come before the 
Senate in the second part of July once we return from the 2-week Fourth 
of July break. I hope we can come up with a little extra money for ship 
manufacturing and for aircraft manufacturing. This will get us where we 
need to be in terms of protecting our Nation, but also it is an 
unbelievable job creator.
  Listen to what shipbuilding does for our economy alone. In 
shipbuilding alone, there are 14,000 supplier companies in all 50 
States. Shipbuilding impacts many companies in every single State. The 
LHA 7 Program, for example, requires 541 suppliers across 39 different 
States to fully produce that class of ship. So it protects America, and 
it puts Americans back to work. I think we can spare a few extra 
billion dollars to restore that dip and put those people back to work 
as part of our recovery program.
  With regard to our F-35 Program--aircraft manufacturing--in 2020, 
this year, there are over 1,800 suppliers working on that aircraft 
manufacturing program in 48 States and in Puerto Rico. Of those 1,800 
companies that are suppliers, over 1,000 of those suppliers are small 
businesses. The small businesses alone contribute over 40,000 direct 
and indirect jobs in the United States of America. Overall, the program 
itself in all 50 States contributes 254,000 direct and indirect 
American jobs attributed to this program.
  I would commend this bill to our colleagues and ask for a ``yes'' 
vote, and we will get a ``yes'' vote, but I would ask us to bear in 
mind that we are going to have to figure out a way to pay for this, and 
I think that is going to require a little innovation and a little 
addition in phase 4 of the COVID response bill.
  I am happy to say that this additional job creation and manufacturing 
is supported by the leadership, up to the top level in the Pentagon, up 
to and including the Secretary of Defense. It is supported by the 
National Security Advisor and by the entire team

[[Page S3987]]

around the President. So I think we will be able to have bipartisan 
support for this.
  Good work on behalf of the committee in authorizing these programs. 
There is additional work that needs to be done by us and our friends on 
the Appropriations Committee in actually getting the money there to 
restore the dip. It is a good day for America, and it is a good 
occasion for this Senate that we are able to end this work period with 
bipartisanship and support for our troops
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma is recognized.


                    Tribute to Tulsa Police Officers

  Mr. LANKFORD. Madam President, 2 days ago, at 3:30 in the morning in 
Tulsa, Officer Zarkeshan did a routine traffic stop. He got backup 
coming to him, who was Sergeant Craig Johnson, and dealt with a person 
who would not get out of their vehicle. Twelve times they said to this 
person: Get out of your vehicle.
  Trying to figure out what to do, they worked to deescalate, and they 
realized he was not going to move. After the back-and-forth 
conversation there in the street, the individual got out of his car 
with a pistol and shot both officers multiple times in the head, jumped 
in a second car, and drove away. Seven hours later, both those 
individuals were apprehended.
  While the flippant national conversation in this room and across the 
country continues about defunding the police, two officers in Tulsa are 
clinging to their lives in a hospital right now.
  I think our Nation loses track of exactly the sacrifices that law 
enforcement makes every single day. Their families hugged them before 
they took off for the graveyard shift and said: See you in the morning.
  Officer Zarkeshan had been on patrol 6 weeks. He graduated from the 
academy in May.
  I am grateful there are men and women across our country who continue 
to put on the blue uniform to serve and protect us because there are 
people on the streets who mean to do our community harm, and when given 
the opportunity, they will take that opportunity.
  If the Presiding Officer doesn't mind, I would like to pause and pray 
for just a moment for the families and for them.
  Father, we do ask Your help for Sergeant Johnson and Officer 
Zarkeshan, to intervene in a way that only You can. Help the doctors 
and nurses. Give them wisdom. Give a sense of peace to those families 
as they struggle for answers. Pray for Chief Franklin and for all the 
Tulsa PD. God, they need Your help in these moments. I pray that You 
would bring peace as only You can.
  In Your Name I pray. Amen.


                                S. 4049

  Madam President, Senator Inhofe and Jack Reed have done a pretty 
remarkable job working through the NDAA and all that has to be done and 
the literally thousands of decisions that have to be made. It is pretty 
remarkable what they have done, and I am grateful for all of their 
work.
  We lose track of the fact that there are folks in Afghanistan right 
now fighting over peace and stability and pushing down terrorists who 
are still in the area. We lose track of the fact that U.S. Army 
soldiers right now are having dinner in a tent in Poland. There are 
folks in the U.S. Navy who are sound asleep in Guam, except for those 
folks who are standing watch. There are marines in Okinawa who are 
asleep, but they won't be asleep very long. There are folks in the Air 
Force who are prepping for tomorrow's mission in South Korea.
  All around the world, awake and asleep, there is never a moment and 
there is never a place where folks in the U.S. military are not 
representing their Nation and doing exactly what their Nation has asked 
them to do. We are proud of those folks.
  This bill, the NDAA, gives a 3-percent pay increase to those folks. 
It ensures that we won't have another BRAC round of base closings in 
the United States during this next fiscal year. It deals with some of 
the ally relationships that we have in Taiwan and Ukraine. It helps 
bring some of the folks who have worked as interpreters in Afghanistan 
for years to the United States.

  It deals with not just those in the military, but it deals with their 
families as well. It allows additional funding to help licenses move 
from State to State for those who are military spouses. It adds 
additional supervision for military housing to make sure we do better 
supervision there.
  Bases and posts around Oklahoma have very specific things that fully 
fund the KC-46 and the B-21 Programs. It is very significant to Tinker 
and the community around it. It deals with the 180-day rule 
modification. It is an amendment I specifically put into this. It is 
something that folks at Tinker have asked for over and over again. 
Those folks who are retiring in their uniform are interested in 
civilian spots, but under current practice, they have to wait 180 days 
before they can move from military to civilian. Well, in that time 
period, guess what happens? They get snatched up by a defense 
contractor, and we lose their skills and their wisdom that they have. 
Why do we do that? Why do we literally punish one of our members in the 
military when they retire from the military, after great service there, 
and then say, ``If you are interested in continuing to be able to serve 
in the community that you are in, you have to wait 6 months before you 
can do it''? We put an addition in there to expand this pilot program 
to allow those folks to move from uniform to civilian and to compete 
for those jobs and not have to wait 180 days.
  At Altus Air Force Base, it fully funds the KC-46. It prohibits us 
stopping the KC-135 tankers until all the details are all worked out 
with the KC-46 and advance if they need it. It funds the T-7 Red Hawk 
in the development of that, the replacement for the T-38.
  In McAlester, it funds the Army McAlester munitions plant work there 
and the construction to increase the capability of the Sea Lion. That 
is an area where we have old munitions that have to come back and 
actually be disassembled to be safely disassembled. It is a job a lot 
of folks don't want because they are handling old munitions, but it is 
the folks in McAlester who do it every day, and we are very grateful 
for the work they continue to do there.
  In Lawton, Fort Sill, it funds the Talon, an integrated management 
system. It is a very significant advantage that we have. It is one of 
the things that everything that happens in Lawton in the fires, they 
want all over the world. Whether you are in South Korea or whether you 
are in Saudi Arabia, they are interested in what is happening in 
Lawton. Even for some of our guardsmen for the Oklahoma National 
Guard--it protects the 137, stopping any kind of divestiture of their 
system for the MC-12. It continues that process. It is a very 
significant bill to the Nation in our national defense. It pays 
attention to people all over the world, but it also takes care of the 
issues that we need to resolve to be able to have them trained, 
equipped, and ready--much of that happening in Oklahoma.
  There are some specific things that are in this that I requested as 
well. Everyone in the military is familiar with the term ``DD-214.'' 
Everyone, after you get out of the military, whether you go to the VA 
or whatever it may be, they are interested in your DD-214. Those are 
your records for your Active-Duty service.
  Well, it is great if you are in Active Duty. The problem, though, is 
if you are a reservist or a guardsman--and there are 840,000 of those 
across the country--they don't get a DD-214 like the Active Duty do. 
So, in later years, when they want to prove their service record, they 
can't do that. We fixed that in this bill. It is an amendment I brought 
to the 13,400 Oklahomans who are in the Guard, for them to finally have 
records for their service just like the Active Duty have records for 
theirs.
  One of the things I focused in on as well is allowing religious 
accommodation and training for that in our military. Our members of the 
military have the same religious freedoms as everyone else does. They 
are to be accommodated in their faith, no matter what their faith is, 
in the U.S. military. Sometimes the training lacks on that, and 
officers and JAG members who sometimes struggle, they say: Well, for 
good order and discipline, everybody just needs to put your faith 
aside. Well, when you join the U.S. military, you are not required to 
also give up the Constitution. You are protected. You are allowed to 
keep your faith and to

[[Page S3988]]

maintain that. This bill will allow some greater training and 
instruction to make sure we protect the rights of each individual to 
live their faith. We think that is important as well.
  There are a lot of good things in this. I am glad to be a part of it 
and to see this continue on, even through some things that you may not 
think are really military in it. Last year, in the bill, when it came 
out of conference, paid parental leave was added to it for Federal 
employees. A lot of folks said: Where did that come from? It came from 
a House-Senate compromise. In the House-Senate was documentation to add 
paid parental leave, but the problem was, what the House had actually 
pulled together for paid parental leave didn't work for a lot of folks. 
It left out people like the FAA and all the folks who work for FAA. It 
left out the TSA. It left out article I judges, so they don't get 
access. If you work for the FAA and TSA, you don't get access to paid 
parental leave like other Federal employees do. You know, we need to 
fix that, and I have an amendment in this bill that says: Let's treat 
all Federal workers the same in this. If we are going to pay parental 
leave, don't ignore the good folks who work for the FAA and TSA and 
other folks. So this actually fixes an error from last year's bill that 
came over from the House to make sure that all Federal employees are 
treated equally. We can do this.
  This is something we already have wide bipartisan support for. It is 
why we opened the bill with so many votes yesterday on a wide 
bipartisan majority. Let's keep working on it, and let's finish it out. 
Let's get it done before the Fourth of July so we can continue to honor 
members of the U.S. military and to thank them because they are 
literally standing watch across the Earth right now on our behalf.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Missouri
  Mr. BLUNT. Madam President, I am always pleased to be on the floor 
with my good friend from Oklahoma, Mr. Lankford, but I am particularly 
glad I was able to be here today. Early, in his remarks, he was talking 
about a family, remembering that family in prayer, and then very 
thoughtfully going around the world of where people are, at this 
minute, who defend us. It is a good thing for us to think about; it is 
a good thing for us to keep in mind; and it is good that when we say we 
are remembering people in our prayers, to be sure they really 
understand that we are. I am glad to be with my neighbor here today and 
also with Senator Hoeven on the floor.
  This will be the 60th time in a row, if we do our job, that we pass 
the National Defense Authorization Act. I don't think there is any 
other bill--in fact, I am sure there is no other bill--we pass every 
year. When we pass this bill every year, we reestablish, every year, 
that defense is our No. 1 priority. Defending the country is the one 
thing that almost everybody admits they can't do for themselves. The 
States don't think they could do this without us.
  This is a national responsibility, and the threats we see today are 
complex. They are more pronounced than any our Nation has ever faced. 
Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dunford, recently 
said that our military has to be ready to fight across regions, to 
fight across domains, and across functions. This bill moves forward in 
all of those areas, being sure that we are interoperable where we need 
to be; that we are quickly mobile where we need to be; and that our 
armed services work as well together as we could possibly hope they 
could work together.
  The President has launched policies and programs to ensure the safety 
and the well-being of Americans. Certainly, the people who defend us 
who serve in the military are doing their part to protect our Nation. 
Now it is time for the Congress to do its part, led by the Senate and 
led by Chairman Inhofe and Ranking Member Reed bringing this bill to 
the floor. It is not a small bill, and it is not a bill that gets done 
just without a lot of work and a lot of compromise and a lot of 
determination as to what is really doable at this time, but this is the 
bill we are voting on.
  Since we do it every year, a lot of it is not absolutely new, but all 
of it is, in my view, as updated as the committee could bring it to the 
floor, and we are going to have a discussion of what needs to change, 
even being that this year the Senate's version of the bill provides 
$740 billion to support the Department of Defense.
  We see this at a critical time when our adversaries, including China 
and Russia, seek to undermine our influence around the world. Russia 
was just accused of putting a bounty on the head of not only American 
service people but our allies in some parts of the world. If that is 
true, a price should be paid for that. We are going to be working hard 
in the next days to determine how deep that intelligence goes and how 
true that allegation is, but whether it is true or not, it should be no 
surprise that the Russians are constantly focused on things that 
diminish the impact of the United States of America, and the Chinese 
are more and more focused on that at the same time.
  This bill authorizes $1.4 billion to establish a Pacific Deterrence 
Initiative that will help secure our interests in the Pacific and our 
friends in the Pacific. The bill supports military readiness and 
modernization priorities. It has more than $21 billion for shipbuilding 
and investing in technology like hypersonic weapons, artificial 
intelligence, machine learning, and things we have to have to keep the 
current advantages we have.
  It recognizes the family. There is $4 million in this bill to help 
military spouses transfer their professional license between 
assignments and between States when servicemembers are reassigned. I am 
pleased to say that the Missouri General Assembly has been a leader in 
that effort. When you move to our State as a spouse of someone in the 
military, your credentials should be, and I think now are, able to be 
moved with you.
  This bill increases funding for Impact Aid by $70 million, and $20 
million of that is for children with severe disabilities. The other $50 
million is just for trying to make up for what would have been a 
taxpaying unit, if that unit hadn't been there. I think Impact Aid 
matters. This bill, once again, says it matters, and we are increasing 
it.
  These programs are critical. They are important. We need to ensure 
that the military construction projects that will be funded later by 
the appropriations process are authorized here. There is $40 million 
for the new hospital that ground was broken on at Fort Leonard Wood 
just last week. There is $60 million for the new National Geospatial-
Intelligence facility in St. Louis, a $1.3 billion or so project that 
is well on its way now. This authorizes the next moving forward of that 
project.
  Investments in military weapons that are made in Missouri and things 
that help our military that are made in Missouri, such as the 
development of the B-21 Raider that will be based at Whiteman, or the 
modernization of the C-130H aircraft where Rosecrans, in Saint Joseph, 
is the world training center for our NATO allies to come and understand 
lift and moving things around and how those C-130s work.
  This bill authorizes $1.8 billion to buy 24 F-18 aircraft that are 
built in Missouri and $1.3 billion to buy F-15s. They are built in 
Missouri, made with a great Missouri-Illinois workforce, and I know 
Senator Durbin and I will work together again on Defense approps to be 
sure that this authorization is fully filled. These aircraft are 
essential and need to be part of our continuing defense base.
  Senator Hawley and I proposed an amendment in the bill that would 
make Silver Star Service Banner Day an annual recognition on May 1. 
This is to be sure we honor the sacrifices of wounded and ill members 
of the Air Force. I urge my colleagues to recognize the addition of 
Silver Star Banner Day in this bill.
  There are a lot of bipartisan priorities in this bill. This will have 
a bipartisan vote when it leaves the Senate. It is a bill worthy of 
support, and I look forward to our efforts to get this done for the 
60th Senate in a row.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota.
  Mr. HOEVEN. Madam President, I appreciate the opportunity to join 
with my colleague from the State of Missouri and agree very much with 
the comments he has just made, and I am here today to express my 
support for the National Defense Authorization Act this week.

[[Page S3989]]

  Defense Department leaders always tell me that, if we don't get NDAA 
done and our Defense appropriations bill--and I am on the 
Appropriations Committee and on the Defense Appropriations 
Subcommittee--that those delays really are a challenge and a problem 
for the military and cost some money. So, obviously, if we can get this 
bill done this week and get on to our Defense appropriations bill and 
get those passed, it makes a big, positive difference for our men and 
women in uniform.
  We should be able to move this NDAA legislation quickly because the 
chairman and the ranking member have put together a good bill for our 
national security and for our Armed Forces.
  This NDAA supports our national defense strategy that is designed to 
keep us ahead of the Russians, the Chinese, and other adversaries, and 
it includes things like standing up the Space Force, investing in new 
technologies like hypersonics and artificial intelligence, and creating 
a Pacific Deterrence Initiative to help ensure that we have the 
capabilities we need throughout the Pacific region to deter conflict 
and coordinate with our allies.
  Also, I am very pleased that this bill includes strong support for 
modernizing our nuclear deterrent, which is vital to our national 
security, and that certainly includes the dual nuclear mission at the 
Minot Air Force Base in my State.
  This bill moves forward a number of modernization programs, including 
the modernization program for new intercontinental ballistic missiles, 
the ICBMs; a new nuclear cruise missile, which is now called the LRSO, 
the long-range standoff weapon; and upgrades for the B-52, including a 
new engine--reengining what has been an incredible aircraft for many, 
many years and has had a longevity that is unbelievable. And the Air 
Force projects an ongoing longevity for it for quite some time. Part of 
that is all the upgrades that we have put into this platform, including 
now new engines, as well as things that include the weapons systems, 
the ability to carry those weapons systems, communications--just a 
whole range of upgrades that have been incredibly important for that 
aircraft.
  Of course, there are other aspects that go with the nuclear mission, 
whether it is the nuclear command and control systems as well as 
upgrading the nuclear warheads on the weapons that the aircraft 
delivers.
  Also, I support provisions in this bill to place restrictions on the 
retirement of the RQ-4 Global Hawk, which is headquartered at Grand 
Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota. Now, our combatant commanders 
rely on the Global Hawk every single day. These aircraft are highly 
capable and are not easily replaced, so we are going to need a lot more 
information from the Air Force about what capabilities could replace 
the Global Hawk. In other words, what is the follow-on mission? That is 
particularly true given the Navy's commitment to the Triton, which uses 
the same airframe as the Global Hawk.
  So we would certainly need that for an ISR mission, and we are going 
to need to know what the follow-on is and when that is going to be 
available before there is any retirement of the RQ-4, and we have 
legislation included in this bill to make sure that that is properly 
and fully addressed.
  Also, I support the bill's authorization of additional procurement of 
MQ-9 aircraft. This fleet is used every day in a variety of missions, 
and we need to sustain it as well until there are proven replacements 
for it.
  Because we are going to be flying the MQ-9 for many years to come, we 
have to make sure that we have all the facilities we need to operate 
that aircraft. Of course, I am talking about the Reaper, which we use 
all over the globe.
  One of the Air National Guard units that flies that mission--one of 
the first to fly it--is our North Dakota Air National Guard, and I am 
pleased that this bill includes authorization of $17.5 million for a 
new operations facility for the North Dakota Air National Guard in 
Fargo, and I look forward to working in my role on the Defense 
Appropriations Subcommittee to make sure that that authorization is 
funded for that facility. It is very important in terms of that MQ-9 
mission.
  The bill also provides authorization for a 3-percent increase for our 
forces and authorizes the fiscal year 2021 military construction 
program. I am looking forward to working on those, as I am also a 
member of the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related 
Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee as well, and we want to make sure 
that we are providing funding for those priorities--those military 
construction projects.
  Finally, I want to thank the chairman and the ranking member for 
helping us to clear some of my amendments, which I have included to 
further this legislation as well.
  The committee included an amendment I authored that will require the 
Air Force to define how its next budget will support activities in the 
Arctic, which is increasingly important for our national security. The 
Air Force is starting to refine its strategies to operate in the Arctic 
region, and my amendment helps ensure that the Air Force translates 
strategic concepts into real capabilities. It will ensure we do not 
cede this critical region to our adversaries.
  I also appreciate the chairman and ranking member including an 
amendment I filed in relation to the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent 
Program, which is to develop a new ICBM. It is critical that we keep 
this GBSD--which is Ground Based Strategic Deterrent--program on 
schedule so it can replace the existing Minuteman III at the end of the 
decade.
  Of course, all of our nuclear weapon components have to be capable of 
withstanding electromagnetic pulses, or EMPs, so my amendment requires 
that the Air Force report on how it will ensure that these systems and 
components will be protected from electromagnetic pulses. By planning 
ahead, we can make sure that we are prepared for something like that.
  I also hope that we will be able to include an amendment that Senator 
Udall and I have offered, a bipartisan amendment that would reauthorize 
and reform Native American housing assistance programs as well as 
authorize a joint Tribal housing initiative between Housing and Urban 
Development and the Veterans Administration to provide Native Americans 
who are homeless veterans--now, we are talking about our veterans, and 
the percentage of Native Americans who serve in the military, I think, 
is the highest of any ethnic group. So we have a lot of Native American 
veterans, and for those who are homeless, we have to help them with 
their housing and their healthcare services. That is what this 
amendment does.
  I chair the committee on Native Americans, and along with our vice 
chairman, Vice Chairman Udall, we have put together this legislation, 
which includes housing and also addressing our Native American veterans 
in a way that I think is important and helpful. I hope that it can be 
included in this legislation.
  In closing, the NDAA provides vital support for our men and women in 
uniform. It authorizes important defense priorities for our Nation, 
including unmanned aerial systems, which is, of course, a huge and 
growing area--our unmanned aerial systems--and the support for the 
nuclear mission, which I have mentioned.
  Again, I think this is good legislation. It is bipartisan 
legislation. We need to all work together now to get it done and get it 
done this week for our men and women in uniform. They do so much for 
us, and we need to be there for them. We need to support them by 
passing this legislation
  With that, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
  Ms. ERNST. Madam President, this week we debate, as the Senate 
should, the annual Defense bill, the National Defense Authorization 
Act.
  I served 23 years in military uniform, as both a company commander in 
Iraq and Kuwait during Operation Iraqi Freedom and as a logistics 
battalion commander with the Iowa National Guard. It is because of that 
experience that I understand that the work we do here on this 
bipartisan Defense bill matters immensely to our troops.
  When the COVID-19 pandemic hit us, 50,000 National Guard and Active-
Duty troops answered the call without hesitation and are out there 
today running test sites, delivering medical supplies by ground and by 
air, and even running

[[Page S3990]]

food banks to ensure no one goes without during this trying time.
  During a recent confirmation hearing for Lieutenant General Hokanson 
to be the head of the National Guard Bureau, I asked what the Governors 
would do without the National Guard. He said he shuddered to think what 
they would do because they are America's first response in communities 
across the Nation.
  Just a few weeks ago, on June 7, we had over 120,000 National Guard 
deployed, and that includes not only those within the United States but 
those that are deployed overseas.
  As a former National Guardsman, I can tell you these are some of our 
best and brightest. They are ready to go at a moment's notice, to 
respond to anything, whether it is civil unrest, pandemics, or natural 
disasters.
  That is why I am extremely pleased that this Defense bill includes my 
provision to provide hazardous duty pay for our National Guard and 
other troops who are deployed to fight COVID-19.
  Now, being a woman in the military has many challenges, and some of 
these obstacles are preventable and ones we here in the Senate can take 
action on--for example, ensuring our female servicemembers are properly 
equipped for the battlefield. Through my efforts and that of my fellow 
Army veteran, Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, this Defense bill 
ensures female troops will have body armor that fits them properly, and 
DOD will be forced to report to us on their progress in finally getting 
this done.
  It is not just the body armor. We are protecting troops in other 
areas as well. One issue I have worked on for quite some time is 
treating and preventing traumatic brain injury--or TBI. This year's 
NDAA funds effective treatments for TBI, such as noninvasive 
neurostimulation therapy that has been proven to work in clinical 
trials.
  Through my provisions in the bill, we are also improving safety for 
military vehicles and ensuring our troops have the best weapons and 
ammunition. Our soldiers have been carrying the same weapons and ammo 
for decades, and they are about to jump to the next generation of 
weapons with a new and better ammunition package.
  By bolstering funding for our Army's small arms rifles and automatic 
weapons, our infantry will finally be carrying the most effective 
assault weapons on the planet in a few short months.
  Now, when we look at waste in our Federal Government, folks know that 
I call it as I see it. As a former member of our military, I am not 
proud to say it, but the Department of Defense oftentimes is 
responsible for some of our most egregious spending.
  So to protect Iowa's taxpayers, I made sure in this NDAA that we 
require all DOD grant recipients who get Federal dollars to include a 
pricetag disclosing the cost to taxpayers for their projects if they 
put out a press release for their work.
  The Comptroller General will also investigate the most expensive cost 
overruns in weapons systems, and the Pentagon will tell Congress their 
top 10 most expensive weapons to fix and maintain.
  On duplication and waste, I was proud that my subcommittee--the 
Subcommittee on Intelligence and Emerging Threats and Capabilities--cut 
$300 million in research and development programs that were wasteful, 
duplicative, or simply not a priority; and we redirected this funding 
toward urgent research needs, such as getting a deployable coronavirus 
vaccine for our troops and for funding TBI programs.
  The NDAA also requires the most senior science and technology leaders 
to meet and discuss their research to ensure that it is coordinated and 
that the Pentagon doesn't continue to pay for the same research twice.
  Finally, and very importantly, this Defense bill starts the long and 
hard work to fix our overdependence on China, a near-peer adversary 
that we should always keep our guard up against. In the defense realm, 
the United States has grown too reliant on the Chinese Communist Party 
for components and materials and for our most advanced weapons systems.
  Through my efforts in the bill, we are helping secure the U.S. supply 
chain for rare earth metals and battery components so that we don't 
rely on China for our weapons.
  We are also working to deploy counterdrone weapons to stop unmanned 
aerial attacks on troops and invest in the latest technology for heads-
up displays and wearable tech for our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and 
marines.
  Before I close, I want to remind everyone of something. The National 
Defense Authorization Act is largely bipartisan. It is through the work 
we did in our Armed Services Committee, led by Senator Jim Inhofe and 
Ranking Member Jack Reed, that we were able to move quickly and debate 
it on the floor this week.
  In what seems like a never-ending polarization of politics, important 
work like the NDAA often goes unnoticed or is only highlighted because 
of the newsworthy provisions in the bill. I wish that were not the 
case.
  As I have said many times over, America does not have a perfect 
history, and many of our heroes were flawed, but, folks, we still live 
in the greatest country on the face of this planet. That is because of 
men and women who have fought and died to protect our freedoms, 
liberties, and rights, and our troops continuing to serve on the 
frontlines to protect our homeland. Ensuring our troops are ready for 
the threats we face now and well into the future is something we should 
all celebrate.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maine.
  Mr. KING. Madam President, we are talking about the National Defense 
Authorization Act. We are talking about preventing and dealing with 
threats to our country. I want to describe a hypothetical threat--a 
threat that throws millions of people out of work almost overnight. It 
causes the stock market to collapse. It cripples the airline industry. 
It has people afraid to leave their homes and States scrambling for 
materials to prepare and cope with the attack. The attack comes in 
waves. Just as it seems to be receding, it comes back. It is difficult 
to know the sources of the attack. The country is divided. There are 
conspiracy theories and polarization and politicization of this awful 
situation.
  I am not describing the pandemic. That is what we have experienced. I 
am describing a potential, catastrophic cyber attack on this country. 
Everything that I listed would be part of what would happen in the case 
of such an attack, plus our networks would likely be down--no more 
working from home, no Zoom, no meetings. The effect on the economy 
would be twice, at least, the effect of the coronavirus.
  The electric grid could likely be compromised. The electric grid--
people think about the lights, but in the South, electricity is 
necessary for air-conditioning. In the North, electricity is necessary 
for firing oil and gas-fired furnaces. We are talking about no air-
conditioning and no heat. It could be in the dead of winter.
  We are talking about airports closed.
  We are talking about the financial system potentially in tatters. 
Peoples' lives and livelihoods--their life savings could dissipate at 
the stroke of a key.
  We are talking about thousands of water systems across the country 
that could be compromised by a cyber attack, making people afraid to 
drink the tap water in their homes.
  We would have uncertainty, economic catastrophe, and an enormous 
challenge to this country
  By the way, what I just talked about is not entirely hypothetical; it 
is happening now. Our financial system is under attack. I talked to a 
utility executive recently whose system is being cyber attacked 3 
million times a day--today. I have talked to small banks in Maine that 
are being attacked thousands of times a day. We have had ransomware 
attacks on our towns and cities across the country. They have hacked 
our OPM--the Office of Personnel Management--and gotten the personal 
data of millions of American citizens. And, of course, we know about 
the attacks on our election infrastructure and the dangers of those 
attacks continuing and escalating.
  The financial system is at risk. The energy grid is at risk. The 
transportation sector is at risk. This is a very serious and immediate 
challenge.
  One of the important lessons from the pandemic--I think one of the 
overall lessons from the pandemic is that

[[Page S3991]]

the unthinkable can happen. If you had told any of us a year ago that 
we wouldn't be leaving our homes, that we would be wearing masks when 
we went out, and that our restaurants and social gatherings would be 
closed, nobody would believe that. Well, it has happened. And a 
catastrophic cyber attack can happen.
  That is why, in the National Defense Act last year, the Congress 
passed and the President signed the creation of something called the 
Cyberspace Solarium Commission--a 16-member Commission; 4 Members of 
Congress; totally bipartisan; 4 members from the executive and 6 
members from the private sector--to take an in-depth look at this 
threat and to try to come up with a national strategy and set of plans 
to cope with it now before it happens. That was the mission of our 
Commission.
  We met over 30 times. We had hundreds of hours of consideration. We 
had hundreds of witnesses and submissions of information from around 
the country, thousands of pages of documents, and came up with a 
report. Ironically, our report was released on March 11. It was 
probably the last significant large meeting in these buildings before 
the shutdown occasioned by the pandemic. We had dozens of 
recommendations. I am proud to say that 11 of our most important 
recommendations are in the Defense bill that is going to be considered 
this week. They have been included in the bill that has been reported 
out by the committee on a totally bipartisan basis. That is an 
important first step in implementing this project.
  The main point I want to make, though, is how urgent this is. Just as 
the pandemic was unthinkable, nobody can conceive of an attack that 
would bring down the electric system or the financial system or the 
transportation system or the internet, but it can happen. The 
technology is there.
  We all think in terms of World War II and conventional forces. I 
believe the next Pearl Harbor will be cyber. That is going to be the 
attack that attempts to bring this country to its knees. As we have 
learned in the pandemic, we have vulnerability, and we have to prepare 
for it.
  We have amendments in the Defense bill that relate to the Department 
of Defense. That is good, but one of the issues with this subject 
matter is that it is spread across the government, both in the 
executive sector and here. We have 18 or 20 amendments that are pending 
that we hope we are going to be able to improve and get into this bill 
with the clearance of other committees, but getting 20 amendments 
cleared--because of the multiplicity of jurisdictions that cover cyber, 
we had to get 180 clearances from committees across the Congress, in 
both Houses. That indicates how fractured this policy process is.
  The same thing is true in the executive branch. The authority for 
cyber is in Homeland Security; it is in the CIA; it is in the FBI; it 
is in the NSA. It is scattered throughout the government. It is 
something that we proposed that we try to make sense of this process 
and provide both in the executive branch and in the Congress central 
points that can have authority and responsibility over this area.
  There is a great deal of work left to be done. We had some 80 
recommendations. We hope that as many as 15 or more will be in the 
Defense bill. But there are others that will require other committees, 
and we look forward to working with them.
  Two of our recommendations in terms of making sense of the 
organization relates to this body, and one relates to the executive. 
This body--we are recommending that we create a Select Committee on 
Cyber in the Senate and one in the House--exactly what was done in the 
1970s when it was realized that intelligence was too important to be 
scattered throughout the jurisdiction of all committees. That is when 
the Select Committee on Intelligence was created. We are recommending 
the same change here.
  In the executive, we are recommending a Senate-approved national 
cyber director in the Executive Office of the President--analogous to 
the Trade Representative--who is Senate-approved, appointed by the 
President, and serves at the pleasure of the President. The idea is to 
give the President a central point of contact to deal with the 
multiplicity of authorities that are involved in this issue throughout 
the executive branch of the Federal Government.
  One of my principles of business when I was doing contracts and 
working in business was that I want one throat to choke. I want one 
place where I can go to hold someone accountable and to hold them 
accountable not only for reacting but for planning. That is what we are 
proposing to be brought forth, and we hope we are going to be able to 
earn the support of the administration.
  The Commission, as I mentioned, had four Members of Congress, four 
members from the executive branch, who made significant contributions, 
and six members from the private sector. We had unanimous 
recommendations after an enormous amount of work and serious thought by 
very serious people from across this country.
  There is plenty of work left to be done. I want to thank the 
committee chairs and the leads and the staff and all of those who have 
worked with us to get these recommendations this far. But I also want 
to leave the Senate and the Congress and the American people with the 
knowledge that we are not there yet, that we are vulnerable, and that 
this is something we have to attend to. This is not something that may 
happen; this is something that is happening now, and it may happen--it 
will likely happen to a more serious degree in the future.
  The pandemic has taught us some important lessons about planning and 
preparing and providing. That is what we are talking about here. We 
have to plan for the unthinkable. We have to prepare continuity of the 
economy, continuity of government. We have to prepare in terms of what 
our deterrent policy is because the best cyber attack is the one that 
doesn't occur. We also have to provide the structures and the resources 
to be sure we are ready to meet and defeat this next challenge.
  I consider this one of the most serious threats facing this country. 
It is easy in the midst of a pandemic and all of the other issues that 
are swirling around an election year and everything else, but it is so 
clear that this is an overwhelming risk to the future of this country 
and that we have to take it seriously, we have to respond, we have to 
be ready, we have to deter, and we have to prepare.
  I deeply hope we will continue the momentum that has begun in this 
bill and be able to take the next step and the other recommendations 
and other good ones that may come forward in this process so that we 
will be prepared and we will be able to respond and prevail
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cruz). The Senator from Oklahoma.
  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be 
recognized for such time as I shall consume.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. INHOFE. That is another way of saying I want to complete my 
remarks.
  Let me say this about the Senator from Maine: Of all the Members of 
the Senate Armed Services Committee, he is the one who is always there 
and getting involved in these things with a sense of urgency that he 
feels in his heart, and I appreciate him as a very valuable member of 
that committee. I thank the Senator for all of his service.


                                 Russia

  Mr. President, earlier this morning, I was at the White House with a 
few other Members to receive a briefing on the reports of Putin putting 
bounties on troops in Afghanistan. You have been hearing about this. 
After a very long briefing, I am confident that President Trump did not 
know about the reporting. There is some confusion in terms of our own 
intelligence, and it just didn't rise to the level of the President at 
that time.
  Another takeaway from the briefing is that our intelligence agencies 
aren't in complete agreement on this even now. This is going to 
continue to be a Washington, DC, story--one where they try to make the 
President look bad.
  Here is what we also know, and we don't need any special intelligence 
to tell us. Putin is a murderer, a thug. He hates America. He hates our 
interests. We know that, and we are doing something about it. President 
Trump has taken a whole list of steps to protect our troops and stand 
up against Russia's actions.

[[Page S3992]]

  In the Senate, the NDAA is focused on our top priority of taking care 
of our troops and also aligning our military to better deter against 
China and Russia. As we continue consideration, let me just give a 
brief update as to where we are right now.
  We talk a lot about our troops and our military strength in this 
bill.
  At the end of the day, the bill affects all American families and our 
communities directly. It is about their security, their freedom, their 
prosperity.
  We introduced an amendment last night that included 79 bipartisan 
amendments. As we speak, we are working on building a managers' package 
that includes dozens of bipartisan amendments. We are really doing the 
job the way it is supposed to be done, the way we did last year and the 
year before.
  The safety of the American people is not negotiable. With the fiscal 
year 2021 NDAA, we move one step closer to ensuring the safety of and 
closing the gap between our military and those of China and Russia.
  For some reason, this never gets out in the media. Nobody ever talks 
about this and, to me, it is so significant that during the Obama 
years--the last 5 years, which would have been between 2010 and 2015--
he reduced spending on defense by 25 percent. That is 25 percent in a 
5-year period. I don't think we have ever seen that before. At the same 
time that we were reducing by 25 percent, Russia was increasing by 34 
percent. If you think that is bad, at the same time China was 
increasing by 83 percent. We reduce by 25 percent and China increases 
by 83 percent.
  How do you catch up? It is going to be hard work.
  As for some things in this bill, it increases funding for weapons 
procurement programs, including Tomahawk missiles, long-range anti-ship 
missiles, ground-based anti-ship missiles, and realigning our weapons 
capability to match the NDS.
  This is the NDS. I like to take this with me so people understand 
that this is really a well-thought-out short document. This is put 
together by 12 Democrats and 12 Republicans. All were considered to be 
experts and all were coming to agreement. Can you believe that 12 
Democrats and 12 Republicans were all in agreement?
  That is what this is all about. It reestablishes our superiority in 
the air by focusing on procurement for the Air Force, while also 
preventing divestment of legacy aircraft like the KC-135. It was 
envisioned about a year ago that we would be phasing it out, but things 
have slowed down a little bit. Its replacement is the KC-46. It will 
take a while for that to get online. In the meantime, we do have an 
adequate number of working KC-135s. We are talking about a vehicle that 
is 60 years old, but they are still working and working well. It shows 
what we are going to come up with when the KC-46 finally comes online.
  It reestablishes our superiority on the seas by increasing 
authorization for shipbuilding and authorization for procurement to 
achieve the 355-ship Navy. We are still talking about that. It supports 
the Army's focus on multidomain capabilities, especially the 
modernization priorities, and it keeps our eye on Space.
  The bill also goes beyond our bases too. A few examples are the 
Defense Community Infrastructure Program, Impact Aid, STARBASE for 
science and technology, and research partnerships with universities. 
This is very significant because I know three universities that have 
been active in this field for the last 3 years.
  It also includes research and experimentation in 5G, which is vital 
to maintaining both our military and our economic advantages.
  One other thing this bill does that I want to highlight is that it 
protects our GPS signals. This is very important. Recently, the Federal 
Communications Commission OK'd a proposal by Ligado Networks to make a 
new cellular network that jeopardizes GPS signals that so many people 
rely on. That is not just me saying that; we had a hearing. We had the 
military, and some 12 agencies of government all joined in. Nobody else 
on the other side was talking about what Ligado is going to do and the 
jeopardy it puts on our GPS system. That is not just military. We are 
not just talking about use in the field for these signals, but the 
pilots in the sky, construction workers on job sites, and even our 
farmers use GPS to irrigate and harvest their crops.
  Even though the Department of Defense and more than a dozen other 
Federal agencies objected, the FCC went ahead with this deal. To make 
it even worse, the FCC was aware of the threat that was being posed and 
the objections that were out there, and they actually had that vote 
over a weekend. I went back and checked with it and found out that they 
had never done that before. I don't know. I can't talk about that 
because I don't have the answers. I have been trying to get the 
answers.
  The NDAA makes sure the DOD is not on the hook for the costly updates 
if Ligado moves ahead with the deal by prohibiting the use of DOD funds 
to comply with the order until these three things occur: The Secretary 
of Defense submits an estimate of the costs associated with the GPS 
interference; two, it directs the Secretary of Defense to contract with 
the National Academies of Science and Engineering for an independent 
technical review; and, three, then the bill further directs the 
Secretary of Defense to create a process to ensure that our Nation's 
military is reimbursed directly by Ligado for the interference that 
they caused. In short, it makes sure that we are not wasting taxpayer 
money to fix the problems that Ligado is causing.
  These are just a few of the reasons this bill is more than just a 
military bill. First and foremost, it is what it is--a security bill. 
Every provision in this bill matters to our national security, but it 
also goes beyond that.
  I think it is really important that Americans know that, with the 
bill, we are leaving a legacy for our children and our grandchildren. 
It is one that values peace, protects economic prosperity, and 
safeguards our freedoms.
  You have to keep in mind that this bill has passed every year for 60 
years. It is very unusual that something like this would happen. In 
fact, this is the only area where that has happened. We do know that 
the results are there. We know that it is going to pass. It has passed 
for 59 years, and it will pass for another year
  We are going to make sure that we put our military back to where it 
should be--back where it was prior to the last administration.
  I think everyone should realize that we are still waiting for the 
last shot of amendments, and we are ready to go ahead and finish it. 
Conceivably, we can get this thing done before the Fourth of July 
recess. That could happen. We are talking about this coming Thursday. 
We are in the process of getting this done now.
  In my opinion, it is the most important bill of the year, and we are 
going to get it finished.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Virginia.
  Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, I want to start by thanking my friend from 
Oklahoma for his leadership on the NDAA. I think that record of 59 
years of getting the bill passed is one I am envious of.
  I wanted, personally, to thank him for his willingness to put into 
the original managers' package the intel authorization bill, which I 
know sometimes has controversy to it, and I am grateful for the chance 
for it to ride along on the NDAA.
  I thank him for his leadership on this issue.


                           Election Security

  Mr. President, I am here today because I fear the Senate is about to 
fail once again to protect our elections from foreign interference.
  For the last 3 years, I worked as vice chairman of the Intel 
Committee to investigate Russia's attack on our democracy in 2016. I am 
proud of the fact that, with all the controversy about this subject 
matter, we are the only bipartisan investigation of Russian election 
interference to make it to the finish line.
  The fifth volume of our report is at the ODNI right now for 
declassification. Any member of the public can read the first four 
volumes of declassified conclusions, and any Member of this body can 
read additional classified materials.
  Our report offers a stark warning of Russia's intent to interfere in 
future U.S. elections and a clear roadmap for how to defend our 
democracy from

[[Page S3993]]

Russia or any other adversaries copying their playbook.
  Unfortunately, the White House and the leadership on the majority 
side of the Senate seem to be the only ones not taking this threat 
seriously.
  Since 2016, this body has failed to vote on a single piece of stand-
alone election security legislation. Four times in the last year, I 
have come to the floor in an attempt to pass my bipartisan election 
security legislation, known as the FIRE Act, by unanimous consent, and 
each time these efforts were blocked by my Republican colleagues.
  Of course, when they blocked it, they got what they were looking for. 
They earned applause from the President on Twitter. In a different time 
with a different President, this bill wouldn't be controversial at all. 
It would simply say to all Presidential campaigns going forward that if 
a foreign power reaches out to their campaign offering assistance or 
offering dirt on a political opponent, the appropriate response is not 
to say, thank-you; the appropriate response is to call the FBI.
  What a sad statement about partisan politics in our country when we 
can't even agree on that. We can't even agree that there ought to be a 
duty to report an offer of foreign assistance in a Presidential 
campaign.
  I introduced this legislation months before the facts came to light 
about the President's pressuring Ukraine into announcing politically 
motivated investigations into the Bidens. I am not here to rehash the 
impeachment trial, but I do want to note one thing. A number of my 
Republican colleagues justified their vote by saying that, while not 
impeachable, it was wrong for the President to solicit foreign 
interference in our elections.
  I take my colleagues across the aisle at their word that they believe 
foreign interference has no place in our elections, but at some point 
you have to put your money where your mouth is.
  We know the President tried to trade election favors with Ukraine. 
According to the new book from John Bolton, the President tried to 
trade political favors with Xi Jinping during trade negotiations. Maybe 
that happened; maybe it didn't. But I would be much more inclined to 
give the President the benefit of the doubt if he hadn't asked China to 
investigate the Bidens on national television, if he hadn't asked 
Russia to hack Hillary Clinton's emails during the 2016 campaign, or if 
he had shown even a shred of interest in defending our democracy from 
foreign interference over the last 4 years.
  We are under attack from adversaries who see this new area of cyber 
warfare and disinformation as a golden opportunity to undermine 
American democracy. We cannot afford to have a system that allows 
Presidential candidates to welcome this interference with open arms. If 
we can't trust the President of the United States and his campaign to 
do the right thing and report foreign interference, then we need to 
require it by law.
  I spent over a year inviting my colleagues across the aisle to work 
with us on this already--and I point out ``already''--bipartisan 
legislation. I have tried to answer every objection and work through 
the right channels to get this legislation to the floor as part of the 
NDAA. What did we do? We went back to the Intelligence Committee--
again, the only committee engaged in a serious effort to prevent 
foreign election interference. We made sure this year's intel 
authorization bill included several provisions to strengthen our 
defenses ahead of the November elections. The committee voted 14 to 1 
to pass an intel authorization bill that included the FIRE Act, the act 
that I just described, so that if a foreign government interferes or 
offers you assistance or offers you dirt, you don't say thanks; you 
call the FBI. So you can imagine my surprise and frustration when I 
learned of a backroom deal to strip the FIRE Act out of the 
Intelligence Committee's legislation because of a supposed turf war 
with another committee.

  I am back again today because the security of our elections cannot 
wait. Let's not hide behind process or jurisdictional boundaries. The 
stakes are far too high to continue the partisan blockade of election 
security legislation that we have seen over the last 3 years.
  If, behind closed doors, my Republican colleagues want to strip this 
legislation out of the NDAA, then I am going to offer it up as an 
amendment to force an up-or-down vote and put every Member of this body 
on the record: Are you for election security or are you for allowing 
foreign entities to interfere and offer assistance with no requirement 
to report?
  More than ever, it is time to put country over party and defend our 
democracy from those who would do it harm. I encourage my colleagues to 
support this amendment and send a clear message: Foreign interference 
has no place in our elections.
  I yield the floor.

                          ____________________