National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Today, we as a Congress perform a duty in compliance with the Constitution of the United States. Article I, section 8 states that Congress shall have the power to provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States. It also provides for and maintaining a Navy and making all rules for the government and regulation of land and naval forces.

So today I rise in support of H.R. 5136, the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2011. I'm pleased to be joined here today with my friend, my colleague, the ranking member, Buck McKeon. Buck's been a true partner in this effort to bring forward a bipartisan bill that addresses the national security needs of our country.

The committee passed the Defense Authorization Bill by a vote of 59-0.

Our Nation's been at war for nearly a decade. Our troops are worn, and their families are tired, and the Nation recognizes their sacrifices. The bill addresses many of the concerns that they've raised.

I'm proud that this bill is a result of the committee's engagement with the military community and our citizens to determine what issues were important to them as we developed the programs and policies that are included in this bill.

This bill authorizes $567 billion in budget authority for the Department of Defense and the national security programs of the Department of Energy. The bill also authorizes $159 billion to support ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan during fiscal year 2011. These amendments are essentially equal to the President's budget request for items in the jurisdiction of the Armed Services Committee.

H.R. 5136 continues Congress' deep commitment to supporting U.S. servicemembers and their families and to provide the necessary resources to keep America safe. The bill provides our military personnel a 1.9 percent pay raise, which is an increase of a half a percent above the President's request.

The bill also includes a number of initiatives to support military families, including extending health care coverage to adult dependent children up to the age of 26. We also have the single most comprehensive legislative proposal to address sexual assault in the military.

The bill also fully funds the President's budget request for military training, equipment, maintenance and the facilities upkeep, which continues the committee's efforts to address readiness shortfalls that have developed over previous years.

The bill provides an increase of $12 billion above the fiscal year 2010 budget for operations and maintenance, including $345 million to fully fund the first increment of construction necessary to modernize Department of Defense schools. There is 13.6 billion for training of an all active-duty Reserve force to increase readiness; an increase of $500 million for day-to-day operations of Army bases, which is a direct impact on our soldiers. It also provides an increase of $700 million above the administration's budget to address the equipment shortfalls on National Guard and Reserve units.

The war in Afghanistan is a critical mission that is essential to our national security. To ensure that our strategies in both Iraq and Afghanistan are effective and achieve the intended goals within well-defined timelines, the bill requires the President to assess U.S. efforts and regularly report on progress, including providing timelines by which he plans to achieve his goals.

It also extends the authorization of the Pakistan Counterinsurgency Fund through fiscal year 2011 to allow commanders to help Pakistan quickly and more effectively go after terrorist safe havens. The bill also provides $1.6 billion for Coalition Support Funds to reimburse nations that are providing logistical, military, and other support to our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

On Iraq, the bill upholds Congress's responsibility to provide oversight to the process of drawing down the mountain of material purchased, transported, and built up in Iraq at tremendous expense to the taxpayer.

In the area of nonproliferation, the bill continues our focus on keeping weapons of mass destruction and related materials out of the hands of terrorists and strengthens our nonproliferation programs and activities. The bill increases funding for the Department of Energy's nonproliferation programs and adds funding to continue the administration's plan to secure and remove all known vulnerable nuclear materials that could be used for weapons.

There are other good things in this bill, which my colleagues will cover.

I want to recognize the members of the Armed Services Committee for their contributions in making this bill one of the best that the committee has put forward in recent years.

I also, Mr. Chair, want to brag about the wonderful staff that we have on the Armed Services Committee. They make it all work well.

Mr. Chair, our committee has been and will continue to be strong proponents of our Nation's security and the people that it defends. We will continue to do what is right and necessary to ensure that our country is safe and secure. We must continue to work with the President to ensure that our citizens are safe and our Nation's security is paramount.

I urge my colleagues to support our troops and their families and vote for the defense authorization bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, picture in your mind an American soldier, a corporal, patrolling in Afghanistan, wearing his American-made uniform, carrying his American-made M4 rifle, having been transported in an MRAP security vehicle to his place of patrolling, with a radio on his back which was made in America--all of these items furnished by the Congress of the United States and under our duty and the duty to train and to allow him to be fully prepared to fight the fight that he is.

That is what is important in what we do today. That is the purpose of an authorization bill. It is required by the Constitution of the United States. It is paramount. It is the most important job that we have to do--to provide for the security of those who fight and who protect us in their line of duty.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. SKELTON. The gentleman from Indiana spoke about the challenge of those returning from the Gulf and facing the depression that often ends in suicide. The gentleman from Rhode Island did the same.

The tragedy of a serviceman or woman and suicide came home to many of us in the State of Missouri not long ago when a young marine from Sedalia, Missouri, suffered that tragedy. It breaks the heart of not just the family but of all who knew him.

I think it's up to us to do our very best to continue to study this issue and make preparation for those who come home so that these tragedies can be put behind us that they can come back to a grateful Nation and warm and loving home and fit in and continue to perform their duties in uniform and duties at home. So those of us who knew this young marine from Sedalia understand fully the comments of the gentleman from Rhode Island and the comments of the gentleman from Indiana.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Chairman, I speak in favor of the committee position, which is to have an alternate engine for the F-35. If one looks at the graph of the F-16 alternate engine program, one will clearly notice that from the mid-1980s, the cost of the engines went down because of the competition. Competition is important. Single source often causes a steep increase in price.

Last year, this House passed the Weapons System Acquisition Reform Act, which requires more competition in Department of Defense programs, not less. What this position of the Armed Services Committee does is live up to that reform act, requiring more competition. It is as simple as that.

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