National Defense Authorization Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the massive cyber attack Americans just read about reminds us all of the need for action on this issue. Building America's public and private cyber defenses won't be easy. But the bipartisan cyber security measure that passed out of the Intelligence Committee with the support of every single Republican and every single Democrat but one, 14 to 1, will increase the ability of the public and private sector to share information and to make us safer. That is why we are going to take it up as part of the Defense authorization bill now before us.

I hope Senators of both parties will come together to support that bipartisan amendment when it comes to a vote, just as we saw the Senate come together to keep the Defense authorization bill intact and consistent with the budget resolution by standing against the Reed amendment yesterday. It keeps us on track to pass bipartisan legislation that will support the men and women who keep us safe every day.

There is something else worth noting about the vote, too. It means we have now taken twice as many amendment rollcall votes on this year's Defense authorization bill as we were allowed on the last two bills combined. Again, it means we have now taken twice as many amendment rollcall votes on this year's Defense authorization bill as were allowed in the last two bills combined. It is just the latest reminder of a new majority that is getting the Senate back on track and back to work.

Unfortunately, some leaders of the previous majority seem bound and determined to get us back into their gridlock comfort season. At a time of grave threats to our Nation, these Democratic leaders think it is a good idea to hold brave servicemen and brave servicewomen hostage to partisan demands for more waste at the IRS and bigger congressional office budgets for themselves. Let me repeat. At a moment of dangerous and gathering threats, here is the position of these Democratic leaders: They want to hold hostage the funding needed to make our troops combat ready so they can spend more on bureaucracies such as the IRS.

These Democratic leaders just can't seem to kick the gridlock habit, even on legislation with the exact same level of funding President Obama asked for in his own budget. They just can't shake their passion for partisanship, even on a bill that sailed out of committee on a hugely bipartisan vote of 22 to 4. That is how the Defense authorization bill came out of the committee: 22 to 4.

That doesn't mean the rest of their party has to go along with it. I am appealing to every commonsense Democrat--every Democrat uncomfortable with the thought of holding our troops and our families to ransom for unrelated partisan demands--to keep working across the aisle in good faith, instead, because many of our colleagues understand the true sacrifice and unparalleled value of the nearly 1.5 million Active-Duty men and women who proudly wear our country's uniform, the 1.1 million members of the Reserve and National Guard, and the more than 700,000 civilian officials who stand in support, not to mention the many veterans and families who enrich our country and our communities.

We certainly understand their value in Kentucky. We are proud to host several important military bases across the Commonwealth. I wish to tell my colleagues about just one of them today.

Fort Campbell is home to approximately 30,000 Army personnel, including vital Special Operations units and the famed 101st Airborne Division. Units from Fort Campbell have bravely served as the tip of the spear in executing the U.S. global war on terror, with the 101st Airborne deploying as the first conventional unit in its support.

It was soldiers from Fort Campbell who proudly answered the call to assist with the delicate Ebola mission in West Africa, and it is Fort Campbell's unrivaled aviation infrastructure that provides the Army with the critical ability to rapidly deploy servicemembers to volatile regions.

It is obvious that Fort Campbell means a lot to our country, and I can't tell my colleagues how much it means to Kentucky. It means a lot to its local community, too, especially considering the fact that it has an annual economic impact of $5 billion to the surrounding area.

This, of course, is hardly a unique story in America. From coast to coast, there is no end of examples of how our troops and our military enrich the fabric of our communities while at the same time keeping us safe. They are our neighbors. They are our friends. They are our daughters. They are our sons. They are not chess pieces for Democratic leaders to wield in some partisan game.

If Democratic leaders are really that worried about fattening up the IRS or adding a new coat of paint to their congressional offices, we can have that discussion, but let's leave our troops out of it and leave their families out of it.

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