National Defense Authorization Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, as my colleagues know, I have no qualms about spending floor time on the personnel business. Our Democratic colleagues have made it necessary by subjecting this President's nominees to unprecedented, systematic delays and obstruction. The majority has been willing to do things the hard way. We are giving the American people the government they voted for, as chosen by the President they elected.

My Republican colleagues and I wish that we could also be spending floor time on productive, bipartisan legislation that the American people need to actually become law. We want to pass the USMCA and the 176,000 new American jobs it would create, but Speaker Pelosi continues to block it. The far left objects to their passing anything--anything-- that the President likes.

We want to pass a conference report for the NDAA, critical legislation for our national defense. Congress has passed a bipartisan NDAA every single year since 1961. Now it is another casualty of the impeachment obsession.

House Democrats steamrolled Republicans in order to pass a wholly partisan bill. I believe this may be the first time ever that either Chamber has passed a purely partisan NDAA. Now they are stalling the conference committee and jeopardizing the whole process.

We want to pass the defense funding bill that our Democratic colleagues have now filibustered twice so that our servicemembers and commanders get what they need. Back in the summer, the Republican and Democratic leaders in the House and Senate all agreed and all signed onto an agreement with President Trump--a bicameral, bipartisan agreement. Everybody signed it. We brokered this deal to make sure the appropriations process did not--did not--get bogged down with bickering over policy issues. We all agreed to keep poison pills out so that government funding could move forward.

But just a few months later, our Democratic colleagues are now insisting on exactly the kinds of poison pills they foreswore when they signed onto the agreement this summer. They are holding up funding for our men and women in uniform because they disagree with the President's views on border security. They want to chip away at the exact Presidential authorities that they specifically agreed not to be touched. Let me say that again. They want to chip away at the exact Presidential authorities that they specifically agreed not to be touched. In short, my friends in Democratic leadership smelled an opportunity to pick a political fight.

Our servicemembers need their funding. American workers and small businesses need their new trade deal. Our Armed Forces need the authorizing legislation that has been a bipartisan slam dunk every year for almost 60 years--60 years.

We cannot cease all legislation just because Democrats would rather fight with the President. We will not neglect the business of the American people just because a House committee is holding some public hearing. If they are going to keep plowing ahead with their impeachment obsession, they cannot abdicate their basic government responsibilities at the very same time.

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