Nominations

Floor Speech

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Mr. WICKER. Our colleagues in the House of Representatives have passed this year's National Defense Authorization Act, and we are about to follow suit. This will be the 65th year in a row--the 65th consecutive year--that Congress has come together across the aisle and across two Chambers to send the President a bill designed to sustain and strengthen the national defense.

Everyone in this Senate played a role. I want to thank all 99 of my colleagues. First among them, I thank Jack Reed, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, who has been a steadfast partner. I also express my gratitude to the other distinguished members of the committee from both sides of the aisle who worked hard to shape this legislation.

In July, the Senate Armed Services Committee approved the committee version of the bill on a vote of 26 to 1. The bill at that time contained 985 items formulated by our fellow Members. Over the next few months, we continued working across this body to add amendments.

Our September substitute amendment had 20 Republican, 20 Democrat, and 9 bipartisan amendments. The second managers' package was similarly bipartisan.

In October, we considered the NDAA amid stark partisan divide during the longest Federal shutdown in the history of our Republic. Nevertheless, during that shutdown, this body came together to pass this very important legislation. We debated amendments, and we improved on the bill, and we approved it. We passed the NDAA after 14 rollcall votes and 9 voice votes. For once, we did it in prime time, finishing around 9 p.m. It cleared this Chamber by a vote of 77 to 20. We sent a strong bill to the House of Representatives, and it had the clear backing of a huge majority of this body.

Now that negotiations between Chambers have concluded, we have a bill that provides for the common defense, as the Constitution requires. This NDAA helps us align the priorities of the U.S. military with the threats of today, and they are serious--serious threats from the People's Republic of China and the entire axis of aggressors that it leads and partners with. It makes warfighting a top priority of the Department, and it reinforces a culture of merit in the Armed Forces.

Servicemembers will receive a 3.8-percent pay raise. We expanded initiatives that will reinforce President Trump's recruiting surge, and we supercharged our efforts to rebuild the American defense industrial base.

Let me talk about that for a moment. This legislation reforms decades of bureaucratic inefficiency in the Pentagon's acquisition process. It contains numerous elements of my bill, the Fostering Reform and Government Efficiency in Defense Act, more easily known as the FORGED Act.

We are about to pass and the President will enthusiastically sign the most sweeping upgrades to DOD's business practices in 60 years. This is a monumental achievement.

The 21st century poses threats that will require the most creative and innovative defenses. Americans are already building the technology to meet those threats, and these reforms will help the Pentagon tap into that energetic innovation ecosystem.

Secretary Hegseth and his staff have been strong partners in these efforts as we seek to implement our shared peace through strength agenda with President Trump. Our reforms, plus our increased defense investments, will enable us to achieve that vision. Through this bill, we will continue revitalizing the defense industrial base--an absolute requirement during these dangerous times.

I am thankful to all of my colleagues for putting in the work to make this bill good for our servicemembers and for national security. It succeeds because it is driven by Members across this body.

I am, as I said, especially grateful to the ranking member, Jack Reed. He is himself a distinguished veteran, a patriot, a statesman, and a great partner in this work.

I would also be remiss if I did not mention the staunch partnership we have with our House counterparts: Chairman Mike Rogers and Ranking Member Adam Smith. That goes, too, for the many other committee chairs and ranking members who worked so hard all year to include crucial legislation in this National Defense Authorization Act.

Speaking of great partners, I want to specifically thank my soon-to- be-retired staff director John Keast. John has been with me for the better part of three decades now--since I first ran for Congress in 1994. He will be retiring from the Senate in January to return to Mississippi, where his family lives, and to pursue new opportunities.

This bill, this 65th NDAA in a row, would not have been possible without John Keast. His work ethic, his sound advice, and his partnership with his Democrat counterpart Liz King--all were essential. We could not have achieved this bill without his tireless leadership.

I want to thank him and the rest of my staff who have labored long days and nights and weekends--Saturdays and Sundays--to get this legislation done. They include Adam Barker, Kristina Belcourt, Jonathan Bowen, Leah Brewer, Levi Brunt, Luke Chaney, Glen Diehl, Cody Emerson, Marty Fromuth, Megan Galindo, Mike Gerhart, Anna Given, Meredith Gravatte, Madeline Guenther, Isaac Jalkanen, Lauren Johnson, Katie Karam, Greg Lilly, Eric Lofgren, Katie Magnus, Jonathan Moore, Katie Stanton, Sophie Schloegel, Mike Tokar, Eric Trager, Adam Trull, Mike Urena, Dave Vasquez, Christina Sandstedt--who has been give privileges of the floor this very day--Julia Wood, Terry Miller, Emily Yetter, Dan Hillenbrand, Beth Spivey, Brendan Gavin, Brad Patout, Rick Berger, and, as I said before, my adviser and personal friend John Keast.

That is a lot of names and a lot of effort and a lot of talent. That is just the members on my side of the aisle.

I thank them all, and I thank this Senate and our friends in the House for coming together in the spirit of patriotism and comity to get this very important quantum leap in our defense accomplished.

With that said, let's begin the vote and take the next step to rebuild America's national defense. 3961.
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