{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221011921/http://vanhollen.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=364556", "Rep. Van Hollen Statement on H.Res. 441 \u2013 the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2014", "2013-12-13", "2013", "2013-12", "Democrat", "House", "MD", "Chris Van Hollen", "V000128", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "Mr. Speaker \u2013\nI rise today in support of final passage of the FY2014 National Defense Authorization Act. I commend Chairman McKeon, Chairman Levin, Ranking Member Smith, and Ranking Member Inhofe for crafting a bipartisan bill that both strengthens the security of our nation and provides for vital programs that benefit our men and women in uniform and their civilian colleagues.\nWhile not perfect, today\u2019s compromise legislation makes many key improvements over the Defense Authorization bill that the House voted on earlier this year. I am particularly encouraged that the final agreement we voted on today includes $80.7 billion in funding for overseas contingency operations (OCO), which is in line with the Pentagon\u2019s request. This is an important change from the $85.8 billion that was included in the House-passed authorization in June.\u00a0 Today\u2019s bill provides sufficient funds to fully meet the President\u2019s FY 2014 request for the war in Afghanistan while ensuring that the overseas contingency operations account will not become a slush fund for unrequested defense spending.\u00a0\nThe final agreement also eases restrictions on the ability of DoD to transfer Guantanamo detainees and takes an important step in addressing our indefinite detention policy there.\u00a0 In particular, I am pleased that this bill drops a provision that would have barred the use of funds to transfer prisoners to Yemen and authorizes the Pentagon to transfer detainees to other foreign countries under certain conditions. More needs to be done when addressing our indefinite detention policy, but provisions such as these represent significant progress.\u00a0\nI am also encouraged by the changes this bill makes with regards to how the military responds to sexual assault cases.\u00a0 It adopts Senate language to bar individuals from joining the military if they have been convicted of a sex-related offense; it imposes a minimum sentence of dishonorable discharge or dismissal on those found guilty; and it prohibits commanders from dismissing a court martial finding or reducing the offense level of guilty findings.\nFinally, the compromise bill does make some progress on allowing the Department of Defense to execute the New START Treaty.\u00a0 Specifically, it allows DoD to begin planning and preparation for implementing the force structure to meet the required limits of the New START Treaty. However, it still goes too far in limiting the President\u2019s ability to fully implement the treaty and set the country\u2019s nuclear policy.\u00a0\nI am also disappointed that this legislation authorizes the establishment of a missile defense site on the East Coast that the Pentagon continues to say is unnecessary. This provision disregards the advice of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and seeks to tie the President\u2019s hands in determining military requirements in other parts of the world.\u00a0 This bill also contains provisions which ignore DoD recommendations and continues to fund unrequested weapons systems and military aircraft, including the M1A2 Abrams tank, the C-130 AMP, and the UH-72A Light Utility Helicopter.\nDespite these reservations, this compromise legislation is a marked improvement over the bill the House passed earlier this year.\u00a0 It contains many important provisions that will strengthen our national security while also providing for our troops and their families.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://web.archive.org/web/20140221011921/http://vanhollen.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=364556"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.3925681598484516, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}