Washington D.C. — U.S. Representative Mike Rogers (R-AL), Lead Republican of the House Armed Services Committee, delivered the following remarks on the House floor in support of H.R. 4350 the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22).
Lead Republican Rogers’ remarks as prepared for delivery:
I rise in strong support of H.R. 4350, the FY22 National Defense Authorization Act.
H.R. 4350 represents a truly bipartisan bill.
I want to thank Chairman Smith for his tremendous leadership and cooperation in helping to fashion it.
Over the last few months, we have seen the best of our soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, and guardians.
They’ve performed in the toughest of environments, with the greatest level of skill and professionalism.
Many gave their lives so others would have a chance at a better life.
Without a doubt, our military is the greatest force for good the world has ever seen.
Providing the authorities and resources our servicemembers need to defend our nation and defeat our adversaries is the greatest responsibility we have here in Congress.
We accomplish that responsibility with the bill before us today.
H.R. 4350 ensures our warfighters are the best equipped and trained in the world.
The bill puts our servicemembers first, providing a 2.7 percent pay raise and expanding benefits for families.
It also puts American workers first with historic investments in our defense industrial base.
It also begins divesting in legacy systems that will not help us deter future threats.
Instead, it invests in new technologies like AI, hypersonics, and quantum computing that will help us stay ahead of our adversaries.
That’s important because Russia and China are rapidly modernizing their militaries.
China is outpacing us with advancements in emerging technologies and weapon systems.
And we know China isn’t building these capabilities purely for defense.
In recent years, we’ve seen China use its military to push out its borders, threaten our allies, and gain footholds on new continents.
H.R. 4350 is laser focused on preparing our military to prevail in conflict with China.
It makes critical investments in new systems capable of surviving in contested environments.
It includes provisions that will remove China from our defense supply chain.
And it reaffirms our support to allies in the region, especially Taiwan.
Threats from near-peer rivals like China and Russia are not the only ones we face.
Terrorists continue their plots to destroy our way of life.
We must continue to take the fight to them.
Anywhere and any time they threaten us.
With strong investments in new capabilities and readiness, this bill enables our warfighters to do just that.
Finally, regardless of how you feel about the war in Afghanistan, I think we were all horrified by the disastrous withdrawal.
This bill includes over 20 provisions to provide accountability and to get us answers to the questions we’ve been asking for months.
This is a strong bipartisan bill that will enhance our oversight of the DoD and ensure our military is properly resourced and equipped to defend our nation and our allies.
I urge all Members to support the bill.
Sep 21, 2021
Press Release