-9999
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. WICKER. Mr. President, I am delighted that this body has passed the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act with such an overwhelming vote.
At the outset, let me thank the dozens of staff members who have made this possible--and I know that my friend and colleague the ranking member will also express his appreciation to a very hard-working and capable and intelligent list.
But let me name my staff, specifically, and it is going to take a while to thank them all: Adam Barker, Kristina Belcourt, Levi Brunt, Cody Emerson, ``Marty'' Fromuth, Megan Galindo, Isaac Jalkanen, Lauren Johnson, Katie Karam, Greg Lilly, Eric Lofgren, Katie Magnus, Jonathan Moore, Katie Romaine, Mike Tokar, Eric Trager, Adam Trull, Mike Urena, Dave Vasquez, Terry Miller, Emily Yetter, Dan Hillenbrand, Beth Spivey, Ryan Bates, Jonathan Bowen, Leah Brewer, Luke Chaney, Mike Gerhart, Anna Given, Meredith Gravatte, Madeline Guenther, Brad Patout, Rick Berger, Brendan Gavin, and John Keast.
And it is possible that I have left some out, but I really do owe a debt of gratitude--and so does my friend Senator Reed--to both staffs on both sides of the aisle for all of the technical work and advice in making this work.
I would remind those listening that this bill passed a committee 26 to 1. That was an overwhelming positive and speedy passage. It is designed to send a clear message.
We agree that we are not where we need to be, and this bill helps us close the gap, and it does so by focusing on two themes: rebuilding but also reforming. And we really need the ``reform'' part. This bill includes $924.7 billion as a top line. This is an increase, and it is needed. It recognizes the urgent need to rebuild our military systems, technologies, and hardware.
We also adopted the most significant acquisition reform proposal in decades. And let me give Members one example of this. In just a single provision of the bill that we have now passed, we repeal 86 outdated or unnecessary acquisition policies.
American innovators are developing the technologies that can dominate the battlefields of the 21st century. The FoRGED proposal in this National Defense Authorization Act taps into that talent.
This bill was Member-driven, both in the committee and on the floor. Our committee approved 985 items that were led by individual Senators in this body.
Our September substitute amendment contained 49 amendments--20 from Republicans, 20 from Democrats, and 9 that were bipartisan. The second managers' package was included today, including another 47 amendments-- again, bipartisan.
And today we took 14 rollcall votes, and because we are so united and joined together to make a strong voice for national defense, we took 9 voice votes. I don't know when we have done that, but I think it sends a strong message, and I hope it does. Altogether, 1,098 Member items.
This is what collaborative, bipartisan legislation looks like. And in highly charged partisan times, this ought to be refreshing news to the American people.
My friend Jack Reed is a veteran of military service, and he is a veteran of this Congress and is a capable partner who works shoulder to shoulder with me on the Armed Services Committee. I want to thank him from the bottom of my heart for his cooperation and diligence in actually getting this bill brought to the floor.
The fact that we were able to finish about 9 o'clock tonight is a testament to that because earlier today, we really did not know around noon if we would be able to come to a consensus. So much negotiation and so much give-and-take has taken place so that we could get on the floor and make a strong statement and send a strong message.
It amplifies the voices of Senators in this body as we begin to conference with our House colleagues.
We are not where we need to be. This doesn't get us everywhere we need to be, but it moves us along the way toward reform and an increase in a realization that we live in the most dangerous world that we have seen in decades.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source