Vote Explanation

Floor Speech

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Mr. MERKLEY. Madam President, I wish to state for the record that although an important engagement in Oregon kept me from being present in the Capitol to participate in the cloture vote on this year's National Defense Authorization Act, NDAA, I would have voted nay had I been present.

I am pleased that the NDAA would phase out the reduction of survivor benefit plan annuities to ensure that the families of our fallen servicemembers receive the Federal support they need and deserve; would guarantee 12 weeks of paid family leave for Federal employees; fence funds for the introduction of new Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces, INF; limit nuclear cooperation agreements under section 123 of the U.S. Atomic Energy Act with countries that lack safeguards; and support the legally-binding and verifiable limits of the New START Treaty as being in the national security interest of the United States. However, other aspects of the bill are cause for serious concern, outweighing these strong points, and must not be overlooked.

I am deeply concerned by this legislation's failure to prohibit funds for unauthorized war with Iran. There is no doubt that war with Iran would be a reckless, disastrous mistake. Yet the President has made a number of impulsive, provocative public statements that risk escalating tensions. Congress must protect its authority to declare war, and that means no blank checks to the administration for an unauthorized war with Iran.

It is also unthinkable that the final NDAA does not prohibit funds for intelligence support to the Saudi-led coalition in a war that has caused a catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Yemen. Communities have crumbled as a result of this conflict, and an acute cholera outbreak and famine have killed more than 85,000 children under the age of 5. The United States has no place supporting, prolonging, or being complicit in this war's widespread civilian casualties.

In addition, I am concerned that the NDAA does not prohibit funds for the deployment of a low-yield warhead on a submarine-launched ballistic missile. The use of this powerful and aggressive tool could drastically increase the risk of instigating a destabilizing nuclear arms race.

Here at home, the final NDAA conference report removed provisions to address PFAS water contamination. More than 16 million Americans currently drink water contaminated with PFAS chemicals, which can affect every major organ in the human body and put humans at higher risk of a wide variety of health conditions and complications including liver and kidney damage and thyroid disease. The decision to reject remedies to this urgent public health issue in the NDAA is deeply disturbing and completely unacceptable.

Finally, this NDAA does not include adequate safeguards to ensure accountability for wasteful defense spending. At a time when America far outspends every other nation in the world militarily, while working families are grappling with stagnant wages and rising costs of living, it could not be more important that the Pentagon and its contractors are accountable to American taxpayers. We should be doing far more to scrutinize defense spending and to evaluate whether we could maintain a strong military while redirecting badly needed funding to the American people's priorities on health care, housing, education, and infrastructure.

Mr. President, I wish to state once again that I would have voted nay had I been present. I look forward to working with all of my colleagues to resolve these critical issues in future bills and to advance the health, safety, and well-being of all Americans.

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