Amendment No. 2023 to Amendment No. 1502

Floor Speech

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Mr. SASSE. Madam President, I would like to call up my amendment No. 2023 and ask that it be reported by number.

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Mr. SASSE. Madam President, my amendment about doubling DARPA funding is really simple: It doubles DARPA funding. This amendment would provide an additional $3.5 billion a year to the base, $3.5 billion that DARPA currently receives over the next 5 years.

To members of the Armed Services Committee, I would tell you, this amendment doesn't do anything to mess with your base authorization. Your work is not displaced. This is simply additive. Modern war isn't just about enemy landings; it is also about enemy hackings. And the Chinese Communist Party is currently pouring money into machine learning, AI, and quantum because they think if they achieve first- mover advantage in cyber, they will ultimately become the world's preeminent superpower. DARPA's job is to make sure that doesn't happen.

We to need to make sure that Chairman Xi lies awake at night worrying about his critical infrastructure, his networks, and his vulnerabilities. And DARPA is currently doing that work, but DARPA is not funded for us to win the technology race.

Money that goes to NSF, which is the core of the bill that is before us----

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Mr. SASSE. I ask for a recorded vote, and I ask for the yeas and nays. Vote on Amendment No. 2023

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