August 3, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 137 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session

[Pages S4663-S4664]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, I rise to speak on the National 
Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2021.
  The National Defense Authorization Act provides crucial resources for 
our Armed Forces and our national defense, including a pay increase for 
our men and women in uniform. I am glad that the Senate was able to 
come together on a bipartisan basis to pass this legislation to support 
our servicemembers, strengthen our national security, and invest in 
critical projects in my home State of Maryland. While there are parts 
of this legislation that I do not support and will seek to change in 
conference, I believe that, on balance, this bill serves our national 
interest.
  In particular, I am pleased that this NDAA grants expanded 
acquisition authority for U.S. Cyber Command,

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headquartered at Fort Meade. I echo the comments of the Armed Services 
Committee in its report, which finds that Cyber Command's expanded 
mission and responsible use of its acquisition authority justify the 
removal of the constraints imposed by the FY16 NDAA.
  I appreciate that my colleagues on the Senate Armed Services 
Committee adopted Senator Warren's amendment directing the Pentagon to 
begin the process of renaming military bases named for Confederate 
soldiers. No American military installations should be named in honor 
of those who led the fight against the union to defend slavery.
  I also want to note my gratitude to Chairman Inhofe and Ranking 
Member Reed and their staffs for working with me to include relief for 
the family of Lieutenant Richard W. Collins III. Lt. Collins' tragic 
death was made even more painful for his family through the challenges 
they faced in receiving the proper benefits and recognition for their 
son. Nothing will ever fill the void of their loss, but I am hopeful 
that this provision brings the Collins family some peace of mind.
  Additionally, it is worth highlighting for the record that the House 
NDAA included a provision extending the review period of the World War 
I valor medals review authorized by section 584 of last year's NDAA. 
The Valor Medals Review Task Force has worked tirelessly to identify 
the service records of World War I veterans who may have been passed 
over for the Medal of Honor on the basis of race or ethnicity. 
Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has limited their access to 
research materials and necessitated an extension for them to complete 
their work. I encourage the conferees to retain the House's provision 
granting this extension.
  While I am pleased with many of the provisions included in this bill 
and voted for its passage, I do have significant reservations.
  I am deeply disappointed that this bill authorizes full funding for 
the President's misguided and wasteful nuclear weapons programs while 
taking no action to preserve the New START treaty, the last standing 
agreement capping U.S. and Russian nuclear forces. For more than half a 
century, successive administrations have linked arms control with 
nuclear modernization efforts as a way of promoting stable deterrence 
and heading off an unconstrained arms race. Failure to extend New START 
will unravel this linkage, freeing Russia of limits on its nuclear 
arsenal and sparking a costly, destabilizing arms buildup.
  I also strongly oppose the authorization of funds to prepare for an 
explosive underground nuclear test, an act that would prompt our 
nuclear-armed adversaries to conduct their own tests and would 
undermine longstanding arms control and nonproliferation objectives. I 
applaud the House's passage of an amendment to bar nuclear testing in 
its NDAA, and I urge my colleagues to uphold this prohibition in 
conference negotiations.
  I also believe that this bill fails to tackle the long-term budget 
challenges facing our country, which is why I was disappointed that the 
Senate rejected Senator Sanders' amendment to reduce defense spending 
by 10 percent and invest that money into healthcare, education, and 
poverty reduction in communities with a poverty rate of 25 percent or 
more. In the midst of the worst economic downturn since the Great 
Depression, a pandemic that has taken the lives of more than 150,000 of 
our fellow Americans and shows no signs of slowing down, and the 
impending crises of homelessness and joblessness that we face if the 
Congress fails to provide relief, we simply cannot afford to continue 
this level of investment in defense at the expense of other critical 
national priorities.
  I regret that the Senate was not given an opportunity to vote on my 
amendment, cosponsored by 13 other Senators, prohibiting the use of 
U.S. security assistance to support the unilateral annexation of all or 
parts of the West Bank. The security assistance which the United States 
provides to Israel is an important element of the relationship between 
our two countries and one that I strongly support. As I explained in my 
floor statement at the time of its introduction, the amendment would 
not have reduced U.S. security assistance to Israel by a single penny. 
It would simply have ensured that no U.S. security assistance could be 
used for the purpose of unilaterally annexing territory in the West 
Bank. Furthermore, nothing in this amendment would have prohibited 
Israel from using U.S.-financed missile defense systems such as Iron 
Dome to defend against attacks in any territories that could be 
unilaterally annexed by the Israeli Government.
  Likewise, I am troubled that the majority leader would not permit a 
vote on Senators Wyden and Merkley's amendment to end the President's 
unconstitutional attacks on Americans exercising their First Amendment 
rights in Portland. Portland is not the first city to experience these 
tactics; President Trump sent unidentified Federal police onto the 
streets of our Nation's Capital to threaten peaceful protesters. Now, 
he is threatening to send them to other American cities, including 
Baltimore. We must require Federal agents to wear visible 
identification and ban them from making arrests or detentions using 
unmarked vehicles. The Senate's failure to act quickly to respond to 
the President's unconstitutional behavior is shameful.
  Finally, Majority Leader McConnell, at the behest of the Trump 
administration, once again blocked the inclusion the bipartisan DETER 
Act, which I introduced with Senator Rubio, to deter future Russian 
interference in U.S. Federal elections. The DETER Act sends a clear 
message to Russian President Putin or any other foreign adversary: If 
you attack American elections, you will face severe consequences. 
Leader McConnell blocked this measure from the last NDAA, even though 
the Senate had unanimously passed a resolution instructing the 
conferees to support its inclusion.
  The decision of the Trump administration, working through Senator 
McConnell, to continue to block the DETER Act effectively green-lights 
Russian interference in future U.S. elections. It is a gift to Russian 
President Vladimir Putin and a subversion of the clear desire expressed 
by both Chambers of Congress to hold Russia accountable for future 
interference. It reinforces Putin's belief that the costs of attacking 
our democracy are low and the rewards are great. I will continue 
fighting for the passage of the DETER Act. The Presidential election is 
less than 4 months away, and we must make clear to Putin that Russia 
will pay a steep price if they interfere in another election.
  While I am opposed to some of the provisions in this bill and 
disappointed by the omission of others, I believe that, on balance, the 
NDAA will strengthen our national security and advance other important 
national priorities. For that reason, I voted in support of final 
passage.

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