National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027

Floor Speech

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Mr. CARSON. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong support of my amendments to H.R. 8800, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027, Carson Amendments No. 95 and No. 96. Both amendments are included in a bipartisan En Bloc.

My first amendment, Carson Amendment No. 95, is straightforward. It requires the Department of Defense to prepare a report for Congress and the public on the impact of research funded through the Congressionally Directed Medicat Research Programs, or CDMRP. The report would show how CDMRP-funded research is making a real-world impact for service members, veterans, and the American people.

It would also identify promising research that is ready to move into clinical or operational use, and where those breakthroughs may be getting stuck. That matters because a discovery only fulfills its promise when it reaches the people who can benefit from it. This report would give Congress better information to clear bottlenecks and strengthen the path from research to treatment.

This kind of report matters because CDMRP sits at the intersection of military health needs and broader medical progress. It supports medical research nationwide on serious health challenges tied closely to service, including brain injuries and toxic exposures. It also complements the work of the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Veterans Affairs by supporting innovative research that may not fit neatly into other federal programs.

Those investments are already delivering results. CDMRP-supported research has advanced work on brain injury, toxic-exposure-related respiratory conditions, and other military health challenges. Its cutting-edge work on orthotics and prosthetics has also helped injured warfighters regain mobility and independence.

But because this program is so important, Congress needs a clearer picture of its full impact. We should know which projects are improving care and strengthening military readiness. We should also know which discoveries are ready for broader clinical or operational use.

That is what my amendment is designed to do. It gives Congress and the public a better view of CDMRP's value, and what is needed to move more medical breakthroughs into care. It also gives the military community, advocates, and the public a clearer view of what these investments are achieving. That kind of transparency can build even more support for this exemplary program.

This amendment is about making a strong program even stronger by giving Congress better information about what is working and how more promising discoveries can reach the people who need them. The CDMRP has a proven record of supporting high-impact medical research. It deserves our continued support, and it deserves careful oversight that helps good programs deliver even more.

My second amendment, Amendment No. 96, applies the same principle of public transparency to military artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence is transforming warfare. It can help our armed forces move faster, understand threats sooner, and protect our country in a more dangerous world. That matters, especially as we face growing threats and strategic competition with China.

But we also need to be honest about the risks. We should not pass weapons of war to algorithms without human judgment, oversight, and accountability.

This bill takes an important step by requiring the Department of Defense to update how it manages these systems. But that work should not happen behind closed doors alone. If the military is developing policies for AI-enabled weapons, the public needs to know what rules and safeguards are being put in place.

My amendment does that in a careful way. It requires DoD to share a public summary of how these systems are being approved and overseen, while protecting classified information and sensitive military operations. That means more transparency for the American people, without compromising national security.

The public deserves to understand how these powerful systems are evolving, and how the military plans to use them. Americans deserve a voice in this debate, and they cannot have that voice if basic facts are locked behind closed doors.

I urge my colleagues to support these amendments through the bipartisan En Bloc.

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