S. 4049
Floor Speech
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Mrs. FISCHER. Mr. President, I rise today to speak in support of the defense authorization bill for fiscal year 2021.
I want to start off by thanking the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. I am grateful for their hard work, their leadership in crafting this bill, conducting a productive markup, and managing the floor process. We came together on this committee during these difficult times, and we passed a strong bipartisan bill, one that supports our servicemembers and provides for the defense of this Nation.
I have said it many times before: Our warfighters are our greatest asset. The brave men and women who serve deserve our utmost respect, support, and gratitude.
This year's bill authorizes a 3-percent pay raise for all members of the uniformed service. It reauthorizes over 30 types of bonuses and special pays and increases incentive pay for healthcare professionals.
The bill also prioritizes support for military families through childcare and spouse employment opportunities. We need to ensure that our warfighters can stay focused on executing their mission and maintaining readiness. This is only possible if they know their families, especially their spouses and children, are taken care of.
As countries like Russia and China rapidly modernize, we face a growing need for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities despite having a limited fleet of resources.
Over and over again, I have heard from combatant commanders who reiterate the need for ISR. They also note the significant shortfall in supply versus a demand the Department of Defense has called ``insatiable.'' This is a problem I know well, as I am proud to have the honor of representing the Air Force's 55th Wing, the No. 1 provider of large fixed-wing ISR in the Nation.
To continue enhancing the capabilities of the 55th Wing, this bill would authorize nearly $200 million in funding for the continued modernization and upgrading of the RC-135 aircraft. This bill ensures that the platform remains a capable part of the Air Force's ISR system for decades to come. The RC-135 is a core component at the Air Force's ISR system and will be for the foreseeable future.
But as we enter newly contested environments, we need to think creatively about integrating platforms like the RC-135 into new ISR networks. I included language in this year's NDAA that would require an assessment of the overall ISR's shortfall based on combatant commander demand, with details about the planned integration of the RC-135 aircraft into next-generation networks like ABMS.
This provision would task the Department of Defense with exploring the conversion of retiring KC-135 aircraft into the highly sought after RC-135 to grow that ISR capability.
Unfortunately, we also face a broader issue with the size and the age of our Nation's Air Force, which is why I included language encouraging growth to meet the Air Force We Need target of 386 operational squadrons.
Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska Houses the Air Force's fleet of E- 4B aircraft, which serves as the National Airborne Operations Center and plays a key role in our nuclear command, control, and communications architecture. The NAOC provides a highly survivable platform from which to direct U.S. forces, execute emergency war orders, and coordinate actions by civil authorities.
The E-4B fleet, which first entered service in 1974, is aging rapidly and sustainment efforts have grown increasingly difficult and costly. The path forward for recapitalizing this vital strategic capability remains unclear. So I included language in this bill that would encourage the swift recapitalization of this important capability
Nebraska is also the proud home of the world-class University of Nebraska Medical Center, which is among the Nation's leading specialized medical care and biocontainment units. This made UNMC the logical choice to be the first U.S. location to receive the COVID-19 patients for quarantine and testing. The first clinical trial of a drug to combat coronavirus was conducted there as well.
COVID-19 has placed an exceptional strain on the Nation's healthcare infrastructure, and we need to address our limited capacity to respond to major events. For that reason, I championed language in the NDAA that would authorize $5 million to implement a pilot program on civilian and military partnerships to enhance the interoperability and medical surge capacity of the National Disaster Medical System. This program would improve future Federal responses to pandemics and to other threats while giving institutions with an established expertise in these areas, like UNMC, an opportunity to participate.
Additionally, the Senate NDAA bill makes targeted investments to begin addressing the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, including $46 million for coronavirus vaccine research and production, and the bill encourages faster adoption of telehealth services.
We are all aware of the increasing effort by China and Russia to expand their influence, which has underscored the need to work with our partners and allies around the world. Engagement, development, training, and education with partner military forces is crucial to successfully strengthening alliances and attracting new partners, and it is important that we cement new ties in places where we have a lighter presence.
The State Partnership Program, a Department of Defense program that encourages cooperation between National Guard units and partner militaries, is an excellent example of this. To encourage its continued development, I included language in this year's NDAA highlighting the SPP's success in cultivating positive relationships with partner forces.
Nebraska has two such partnerships: a shared one with the Czech Republic and a newly penned partnership with Rwanda.
This mil-to-mil training program allows National Guard units to conduct exercises and education with developing nations, cultivating partnerships that are vital to our success around the world. I also serve as chair of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee, which oversees the Department's nuclear forces and the U.S. Strategic Command, or STRATCOM, which is located in my State of Nebraska.
It also has jurisdiction over national security space and missile defense programs, as well as the Department of Energy's defense activities.
Across the subcommittee's jurisdiction, we reduced funding for underperforming programs in order to better support the priorities of our war fighters.
For example, my subcommittee authorized an additional $76.8 million to begin development of a land-based missile defense capability for Guam. Not only is this a top priority for the INDOPACOM commander, but it is the single largest new activity undertaken as part of the Pacific Deterrence Initiative.
The subcommittee also authorized an increase of $120 million in order to accelerate the development of the space-based Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor at the Missile Defense Agency. Despite repeated testimony from DOD witnesses about the significance of this program, year after year, budget requests fail to fully fund it. While I am proud of the subcommittee's work to keep this program moving forward, I hope that next year the Department will take the initiative and fully fund this essential program.
To meet additional missile defense priorities, this bill also provides $128 million to increase procurement of SM-3 IIA missiles and an additional $162 million to continue the development of the Homeland Defense Radar-Hawaii, a key unfunded priority of the INDOPACOM commander.
The bill also authorizes an increase of $319.6 million to procure an eighth THAAD battery. As threats continue to increase, the need for THAAD's unique defense capabilities continues to grow.
Most importantly, this year's bill authorizes full funding for the continued modernization of our nuclear deterrent. This includes critical programs such as the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent, which will replace our aging ballistic missile force, and the next-generation nuclear cruise missile, the long range standoff weapon.
It also invests heavily in the modernization of the National Nuclear Security Administration's nuclear complex, a third of which dates to the Manhattan Project and early Cold War era.
I would like to take a moment to remind my colleagues of why maintaining our modernization schedule is so very important. While still effective, our nuclear deterrent is aging. Every leg of our nuclear triad has been extended far beyond its originally planned service life, and we have reached a point where further life extensions are simply not possible. These systems must be replaced.
To this end, the previous administration began the development of a number of programs to recapitalize our nuclear deterrent, including a new ICBM, a new submarine, and a new bomber. Yet these replacements are expected to be delivered just as the current systems are aging out, and as many STRATCOM Commanders have testified, there is no margin for error in this schedule.
Take, for example, the Ohio-class submarines. Through life extensions, the submarines will be in service for 42 years--longer than any other submarine in our Navy's history. As the current STRATCOM Commander, ADM Charles Richard, who is a submariner by trade, eloquently explained during his confirmation hearing that it is simply not possible to keep them in service any longer.
However, as a result of previous decisions to delay the development of the Ohio's replacement, these submarines will be retiring before the next generation--the Columbia class--is ready for service. Let me say that again. The submarines that form one-third of our nuclear triad will begin retiring before their replacements are ready.
STRATCOM believes it can mitigate the risks associated with that schedule, but this reflects the high level of risk that has already been accepted in our planning. It also explains exactly why officials in both the Trump and the Obama administrations have repeatedly emphasized that there is no margin for additional delay.
Admiral Richard testified earlier this year: ``I cannot overemphasize the need to modernize our nuclear forces and recapitalize the supporting infrastructure to ensure we can maintain this deterrent in the future.''
This is why fully funding these programs and maintaining our current modernization schedule is so important. We must continue preparing to meet and defeat the adversaries of tomorrow.
In closing, I again stress that the Senate's NDAA bill gives our men and women in uniform the resources they need. More than this, it provides for their and their families' futures through much needed pay raises, employment opportunities, and other programs. This bill is good for the nuclear and strategic forces that protect our country. This bill is good for our Nation. This bill is the product of bipartisan consensus. Nearly all of my Republican and Democratic colleagues on the Committee on Armed Services voted for it.
Let's provide for the defense of our Nation and the men and women of our Armed Forces by voting for the bill. I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting its swift passage.
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