Critical Initiatives Included in Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, yesterday the House passed H.R. 6395, the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act.

The passage of this year's NDAA in the House was a bipartisan achievement done under extremely difficult circumstances, and I would like to congratulate Chairman Adam Smith, and particularly Ranking Member Mac Thornberry, as this will be his final NDAA before his retirement at the end of this year.

I wanted to take a few moments to highlight some of the provisions in this legislation which I am grateful were included.

These include provisions which will strengthen manufacturing in my home State, protect the employment rights of our Nation's servicemembers, help to improve maternal and mental healthcare for servicemembers and their families, and strengthen ties with one of our Nation's oldest allies.

The Southern New England Regional Commission, H.R. 5124, which this bill included, establishes a regional commission that will facilitate the investment of Federal funds in southern New England, including my home State of Rhode Island, to build upon our regional strengths, such as defense manufacturing, shipbuilding, and renewable energy. This initiative will generate critical economic growth in the region to reduce poverty, unemployment, and out-migration in counties that were hit hardest by the Great Recession and now by COVID-19.

Mr. Speaker, I acknowledge Congressmen Joe Courtney, Joe Kennedy, Stephen Lynch, John Larson, and Bill Keating, who are cosponsors of this legislation, and I thank them for their support of this critical initiative which will benefit all of our districts.

This year's NDAA also includes the Justice for Servicemembers Act, H.R. 2750, which I authored, clarifying that the statutory rights of servicemembers and their families under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act cannot be waived through forced arbitration unless it is agreed to after a dispute arises.

American servicemembers, veterans, and their families have sacrificed much in service of our country. They have fought to protect the fundamental idea that we are a nation of laws and institutions that guarantee the rights and prosperity of every American.

Since the Second World War, Congress has created many laws, including the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, to provide essential protections and guarantee every veteran and Active-Duty servicemember, including the Reserves and National Guard, the right to be free from workplace discrimination on the basis of their military service and their right to their day in court to enforce these protections. But for too long, forced arbitration has eroded these fundamental protections by funneling servicemembers' claims into a private system set up by corporations without the same procedural safeguards of our justice system.

Buried deep within the fine print of everyday contracts, forced arbitration clauses block the brave men and women in uniform, as well as their family members, from having their day in court to hold corporations accountable for breaking the law. This bipartisan provision ends this shameful practice by clarifying that arbitration clauses are only enforceable if agreed to by servicemembers or their families after a dispute arises.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues, Congressman Jared Golden, Congresswoman Susan Davis, and Congressman Guy Reschenthaler, for their strong bipartisan support for this provision to protect our men and women in uniform.

Also included in this year's NDAA is a provision which will require the Department of Defense to provide a report to Congress on the maternal healthcare, in particular mental healthcare, that is available to our Nation's servicemembers, as well as the spouses of servicemembers.

According to the CDC, 1 in 8 women nationwide experience symptoms of postpartum depression, and in some States that percentage can be high as 1 in 5.

Yet, according to the What to Expect Project, data related to instances of postpartum depression and other mental health conditions associated with pregnancy and childbirth is not widely available.

This report required by the amendment will require the Department of Defense to outline the care that is currently available for servicemembers and their spouses who may experience symptoms of postpartum depression.

Finally, this year's NDAA will include a provision which will encourage greater investment and trade between the United States and Portugal.

Last year, I introduced the Advancing Mutual Interests and Growing Our Success, or the AMIGOS Act, H.R. 565, which makes Portuguese nationals eligible for E-1 and E-2 nonimmigrant visas if the Government of Portugal provides similar nonimmigrant status for U.S. nationals, legislation which passed the House without opposition in December of last year.

Access to these investor visas will allow Portuguese investors to support projects in the U.S., benefiting our economy as well as that of Portugal.

As one of the first countries to recognize the United States after the Revolutionary War, Portugal is one of our closest economic partners and strongest allies.

Today, the United States maintains that longstanding relationship as the fifth largest export market for Portugal, and its largest trading partner outside the European Union.

The AMIGOS Act will strengthen this trade partnership and strengthen ties with our longtime NATO ally, Portugal.

I would like to acknowledge Congressman Bill Keating and Congressman Devin Nunes for their support of this provision, and the instrumental role they played in securing its inclusion in this year's NDAA during the House Armed Services Committee markup.

I would, once again, like to thank Chairman Smith and Ranking Member Thornberry for supporting these provisions, and for their work on this year's National Defense Authorization.

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