National Defense Authorization Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise this evening in support of the fiscal year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act, which provides our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines with the critical resources they require to meet our critical national security missions.

Let me begin by expressing my sincere gratitude to both the chairman, Senator McCain, and the ranking member, Senator Reed, for tackling many of the complex and challenging issues facing our Nation and our military.

During my time in the Senate, I have never been more concerned about global instability and the threats posed to our country by radical Islamic extremists.

We must work together to ensure our collective defense and this bill puts us on the path to doing so.

The legislation affirms the strategic importance of our Navy and shipbuilding programs by fully funding the DDG 1000 Program and authorizing $400 million in incremental funding authority toward an additional DDG 51 beyond those included in the current multiyear procurement contract. This additional ship is very much needed by our Navy and it would fulfill the terms of a 2002 swap agreement between the two major shipbuilders regarding the construction of large surface combatants. Both my colleague Senator Angus King and I advocated for these critical provisions.

I am so proud of the highly skilled and hard-working men and women of Bath Iron Works in my State who construct these ships for the Navy. The DDG 1000 is the lead ship of its class. It will bolster our ability to project power. It promises to deliver a wide array of cutting-edge innovations such as stealth technology, electric propulsion, and a smaller crew size.

Our destroyers are the workhorses of the Navy. Recently, the Bath-built USS Farragut, which I was honored to christen almost 10 years ago, was dispatched to the Strait of Hormuz after Iranian naval forces harassed commercial vessels transiting the area. The USS Farragut escorted U.S.-flagged ships through the Strait, projecting American power and sending a strong signal to enemies and allies alike that the U.S. Navy is prepared and ready to respond to acts of aggression.

Our Navy fleet provides the robust forward presence our Nation requires to respond not only to acts of aggression but to humanitarian disasters as well as to protect critical trade groups that facilitate global commerce and security. The power of presence cannot be taken for granted or ignored, which is why the investments in our Navy that are authorized by this bill are so critical. We simply need more ships to be where we want to be in the world when we want to be and need to be there. The Navy's plan shows that unless we make the investments that are needed, our fleet will continue to shrink and, thus, jeopardize our national security.

This bill also maintains investments in our public shipyards, which are another set of strategic facilities in our national security arsenal.

Recently, I had the honor of hosting our Secretary of Labor, Thomas Perez, in Maine. We visited and were so impressed by the very successful apprenticeship program at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, ME. The shipyard in Kittery is one of only four remaining public naval shipyards, and it is renowned for its skilled and dedicated workforce that is helping our Nation transition from the Los Angeles Class to the Virginia Class submarines.

This bill also provides the resources necessary to help our allies and partners around the world. When Hamas fired more than 3,000 rockets into Israel last summer, the value of U.S.-Israeli cooperative missile defense programs became crystal clear.

During those countless attacks, it was the Iron Dome missile defense system developed in Israel, with cooperation and assistance from the United States, that saved countless civilian lives.

In addition, this bill continues to improve and strengthen the military's response to sexual assault. How well I remember at an Armed Services subcommittee hearing a decade ago when I first raised the issue of sexual assault in the military, and how dismissive the reply was of GEN George Casey. Fortunately, that attitude has changed, and in the last 2 years, significant reforms have been implemented to help combat these crimes and improve services and care for the survivors of sexual assault.

Still, the work of translating the military's stated policy of zero tolerance into reality remains unfinished business. Key provisions in this year's bill build upon the past reforms we have made by improving the protections for victims of sexual assault, enhancing confidential reporting options, and expanding the authority of special victims' counsel to assist the survivors of sexual assault. The Department of Defense must, however, do more to eliminate, once and for all, retaliation against the victims of sexual assault who come forward to report these crimes.

To further support our men and women in uniform, this bill rejects a provision proposed by the administration that would consolidate TRICARE and limit care options for servicemembers and their families. This bill preserves the U.S. Family Health Plan, which serves as a model of high-quality and cost-effective care. This program has been extremely successful and popular among enrollees in Maine. I have been impressed with the work I have seen them do in case management of chronic diseases such as diabetes.

This bill also directs the Pentagon to rein in or eliminate unnecessary, wasteful spending. It cuts headquarters and administrative costs by 7.5 percent in the year 2016. In this time of budget constraints, we owe it to taxpayers to assess every efficiency and use every cost-saving measure, while also continuing to ensure the security of our Nation.

Finally, I wish to thank the committee for making the right decision in rejecting the President's proposal to authorize a new base realignment and closure round in 2016. I have been through BRAC rounds, and they have required significant costs and have failed to deliver on the promised savings, as has been documented by the Government Accountability Office--GAO.

This bill would also better tailor the HUBZone Program to meet the needs of communities affected by the closure of U.S. military installations through the previous BRAC process. The provisions included in the bill are drawn from the HUBZone Expansion Act that I authored with my colleague Senator King.

I urge support of this highly significant legislation. I am pleased to have worked with the members of the committee on which I have served for so many years. Again, I congratulate the leaders of the committee and the members of the committee for their excellent work.

Thank you, Mr. President.

I yield the floor.

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