William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021

Floor Speech

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Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, today, I voted against the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021. While this legislation includes several provisions that I strongly support--including prohibiting the use of funds to support the Saudi-led coalition for strikes in Yemen and limiting the President's ability to divert funds to build his wasteful border wall--it ultimately fails to rein in our nation's out of control defense spending.

Amid a global pandemic, and at a time when our nation's poverty rate is at least 25 percent, it is unconscionable that Congress is authorizing a record-breaking Pentagon budget of $740.5 billion--over half of our discretionary budget. Multiple independent analyses have concluded that our nation's collective security would not suffer by cutting obsolete cold war weapon systems, rejecting new nuclear weapons, and ending our military's reliance on expensive private contractors. Congress must confront this reality and take meaningful action to ensure that the basic needs of American families are prioritized over wasteful military spending. That's why I'm deeply disappointed that an amendment I supported to reduce the Pentagon's budget by ten percent--while exempting military personnel and the Defense Health Program from any reduction--was defeated on the House floor.

While I oppose the wasteful spending included in this legislation, I am pleased that it authorizes a three percent military pay raise and contains provisions to protect the health of military families by cleaning so-called PFAS forever chemicals and investing in military housing infrastructure improvements. The bill also takes important steps to improve the tracking of military child abuse cases, improve sexual assault prevention and response, and require that the DoD procure body armor that properly fits female service members. I am also pleased that the bill takes meaningful action to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay--an issue I have long championed--by eliminating arbitrary restrictions on the transfer of detainees from Guantanamo Bay that hindered the Obama Administration's ability to close the facility.

Although I am glad these important provisions were included, I could not and cannot support a bill that ensures our nation will provide $550 billion more in discretionary funding for military spending than for healthcare, education, workforce development, and anti-poverty programs combined.

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