Conference Report on H.R. National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024

Floor Speech

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Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, this NDAA conference report contains several important provisions that I support. These include the authorization of $300 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, $300 million for construction of new military childcare centers, excluding the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) from the Basic Needs Allowance (BNA), and providing a 5.2 percent pay raise for servicemembers. The conference agreement also strikes many of the most problematic provisions from the House-passed NDAA, including provisions preventing female servicemembers from accessing reproductive care, preventing gender-affirming care for transgender servicemembers, and multiple provisions that would worsen our climate crisis. I'm relieved these harmful provisions will not become law.

I also strongly support a provision of the bill that is especially important to my Congressional District: the authorization of $40 million for the Fort Hunter Liggett Network Enterprise Center. Fort Hunter Liggett is the U.S. Army Reserve's largest training installation, but many of its facilities, including the Network Enterprise Center, are badly in need of repair or replacement. This funding will allow for the construction of a new Network Enterprise Center to enable the installation to continue to meet its mission.

However, the NDAA conference report regrettably also contains a very controversial extension of current warrantless surveillance authorities by intelligence and law enforcement agencies. Airdropped into the NDAA conference report is a seemingly-innocuous `short-term' reauthorization of Section 702 of FISA until April 19, 2024. However, this `short-term' reauthorization masks a de facto 16-month extension for surveillance programs that law enforcement and intelligence agencies admit bypass the Fourth Amendment. This extension greenlights continued use of Section 702 despite its well-documented history of abuse and allows the government's unchecked access to Americans' personal data without a warrant. I absolutely cannot vote to extend FISA's Section 702, even temporarily, and therefore will cast a NAY vote on the NDAA conference report.

Instead of embracing the surveillance status quo, Congress needs to reform Section 702 to protect Americans' civil liberties. Congressional leadership must bring the Protect Liberty and End Warrantless Surveillance Act to the floor for a vote. The Judiciary Committee recently passed this pivotal surveillance reform bill, by an overwhelming bipartisan vote, that is largely inspired by the bicameral, bipartisan Government Surveillance Reform Act that I introduced with Rep. Warren Davidson.

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