National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020

Floor Speech

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Ms. SHERRILL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to oppose the motion to recommit. As a veteran and as an American, I urge all of you to put the political games aside, put our troops and our country first, and pass this defense bill.

For 58 years straight, this Congress has come together across party lines to pass a bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act. This critical piece of legislation ensures Congress has a say in the mission of our military, the policies of our Department of Defense, and the safety and security of our women and men in the field.

Madam Speaker, I am honored to serve on the House Armed Services Committee, and I thank the chairman, the ranking member, all the leaders, and all of my colleagues for their dedication to our military and to our national security.

As a U.S. Navy veteran who served for almost 10 years, I am proud to be part of the new class of veterans and national security professionals who have worked on this bill in committee. We know what it is like to rely on Congress to execute our mission and to keep our country safe, so we must pass the National Defense Authorization Act in this House. We must make sure that the vitally important priorities included in this House bill make it to the President's desk, and we must show the country that our disagreements are nothing compared to our tradition of crossing party lines and supporting the National Defense Authorization Act.

And don't take my word on the importance of this bill. Take it from a Republican and a fellow Naval Academy graduate, who said:

How do we explain to Americans who are risking their lives for us that we could not summon the courage to take some hard votes?

How do we explain that we could not come together and work together when it mattered most?

The fundamental purpose of this legislation, which has united Members from both sides of the aisle, is to provide our Armed Forces what they need to do the jobs we ask of them.

Madam Speaker, John McCain knew this must be an area of bipartisan support, and this MTR is an attempt to strip away that bipartisanship, to inject the broken politics of Washington into a bill that should be bigger than your political party.

The NDAA fully funds a 3.1 percent pay raise for U.S. military personnel, exactly what the President asked for. Madam Speaker, this is the largest pay increase since 2010, the last time the Democrats were in power.

My colleagues had almost 10 years and, more recently, 21 hours of markup and 28 hearings to discuss this very issue, but not one of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle brought this issue up in committee. This last-second partisan motion undercuts the hard work of the House Armed Services Committee, which passed the largest pay raise for our troops in years.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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