Washington, D.C. – The House of Representatives today began consideration of H.R. 2647, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010. The comprehensive defense policy bill, which was approved unanimously by the House Armed Services Committee on June 16, authorizes $550.4 billion in budget authority for the Department of Defense (DoD) and the national security programs of the Department of Energy. Additionally, the legislation authorizes $130 billion to support operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere in the Global War on Terrorism for Fiscal Year 2010.
Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA), the committee’s top Republican, released the following prepared remarks in support of the legislation:
“As legislators, we meet once again to address the wide range of important national security activities undertaken by the Departments of Defense and Energy. We all take our legislative responsibilities very seriously. This is especially true during a time of war, and it is always true of my good friend and colleague, Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton.
“I would be remiss, Mr. Chairman, without saying a word about the outgoing Ranking Member, John McHugh. I know you’ll agree, Mr. Chairman, that this committee, this Congress, and the 23th District of New York will all miss the leadership of John McHugh. I look forward to speaking more about John later today.
“As a result of Chairman Skelton’s tireless efforts to put forward this bill, our committee reported out the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 last Wednesday. The vote was unanimous—61 to 0.
“Consistent with the long standing, bipartisan practice of the Armed Services Committee, this bill reflects our committee’s continued strong support for the brave men and women of the United States armed forces.
“This legislation acknowledges that the United States has a vital national security interest in ensuring that Afghanistan does not once again become a safe haven for terrorists, supports a comprehensive counterinsurgency strategy that is adequately resourced and funded by Congress, and calls on the President to provide our U.S. military commanders with the military forces they require in order to succeed. In Iraq, the committee ensures that the Congress will support the President’s plan to redeploy combat forces while providing our commanders on the ground the flexibility to hold hard fought security gains and ensure the safety of our forces.
“Mr. Chairman, we owe our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines the very best available equipment, training, and support in order to provide them with the best possible tools to undertake their missions. The provisions that are already in this bill go a considerable way in demonstrating this support, but we can—and should—improve it.
“Congress, and particularly the Armed Services Committees in both chambers, has the unmistakable obligation to ensure that the Department of Defense develops and deploys defensive capabilities that protect the American people, our forward-deployed forces, and our allies. This includes promising programs in the area of missile defense.
“In a year where Iran and North Korea have demonstrated the capability and intent to pursue long-range ballistic missiles and nuclear weapon programs—elements of a genuine national security threat—this bill endorsed reductions to capabilities that would provide a comprehensive missile defense system to protect the U.S. homeland, our forward-deployed troops, and allies.
“We need to take steps that would reverse the Administration’s 35 percent reduction to a critical component of the national missile defense system, located in Alaska and California, which is designed as a last line of defense to protect the U.S. homeland. It is unfortunate that we have been forced to trade national missile defense capabilities for more theater missile defense. Both are necessary and both could have been adequately funded without such deep cuts.
“With respect to our allies, I commend Chairman Skelton for including provisions taken from the bipartisan NATO FIRST bill that was introduced earlier in the year by Representatives Turner and Marshall. I believe a strong commitment to transatlantic security is necessary as the Administration engages in a reset policy with Russia and seeks increased allied contributions in Afghanistan. To this end, we beleive this bill would benefit from additional provisions that would address the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty and would adopt the Obama Administration’s proposals relating to building the capacity of partners in order to increase coalition partner nation participation in Afghanistan.
“Building on the Weapons Acquisition Reform Bill that the President signed in May, this legislation takes a number of important steps on major weapons programs. I am pleased that this bill provides $368.8 million in advance procurement funding for twelve additional F-22s. Keeping the F-22 production line open is not only necessary to meet military requirements, but also sustains a critical sector of the defense industrial base and provides over 95,000 direct and indirect jobs at a time when our economy is struggling through recession.
“As a nation, we owe more than our gratitude to the brave men and women in uniform and their families, past and present, for the sacrifices they make to protect our freedom. I am pleased that this legislation includes a 3.4 percent pay rise, which is half a percentage point above the President’s request. I commend and thank Chairman Skelton for working to address concurrent receipt in the suspension bill addressed earlier today. However, I remain concerned that we were not able to fund payments to military surviving spouses by repealing the ‘widow’s tax’ and allow access to TRICARE for Guard and Reserve members who receive early retirement. If this is truly to be the ‘Year of the Military Family,’ we must make it a priority to fund these programs too.
“One of the few areas where there is disagreement within our committee is detainee policy—these are differences that I believe need to be debated and given a vote within the full House. As you know, many Members believe the American people do not want detainees in Guantanamo brought to the sovereign territory of our country. I am disappointed we will not debate amendments dealing with the transfer or release of detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba into the United State.
“Finally, I strongly agree with many Members who believe the Congress should do everything possible to ensure that the detainee pictures presently subject to the Freedom of Information Act are not released. The President and our military commanders determined that these photos—if released—would risk the safety of U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Given the overwhelming support for this language in the Senate, I regret that we could not address this issue on the House floor today.
“As in years past, I believe that this legislation reflects many of the Armed Service Committee’s priorities in supporting our nation’s dedicated and courageous servicemembers. I thank Chairman Skelton for putting together an excellent bill and helping us to stay focused on delivering a bill that protects, sustains, and builds our forces. I look forward to working with my colleagues to improve—and pass—H.R. 2647.”