{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.barrasso.senate.gov/newsroom-news-releases-barrasso-presses-for-urgent-action-on-ndaa/", "Barrasso Presses for Urgent Action on NDAA", "2024-12-04", "2024", "2024-12", "Republican", "Senate", "WY", "John Barrasso", "B001261", "www.barrasso.senate.gov", "barrasso", "https://www.barrasso.senate.gov/newsroom/news-releases/", "scraper", "\u201cDemocrats\u2019 dithering and delaying \u2013 it\u2019s downright dangerous. It sends a terrible message that America\u2019s deterrence isn\u2019t incredible. As a result of the November elections, that\u2019s about to change\u2026\u201d\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) spoke on the Senate floor today to call for urgent passage the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Senator Barrasso also discussed how he spent Thanksgiving in the Middle East with Wyoming service members.\n\nWith global tensions escalating, passing the NDAA has become more urgent than ever. Senate Democrats have selfishly stalled its passage, withholding critical resources for our troops, their families, and military operations.\n\nClick here to watch Sen. Barrasso\u2019s remarks.\n\nSen. Barrasso\u2019s remarks:\n\n\u201cI spent Thanksgiving in the Middle East with 400 members of our Wyoming National Guard. These heroes come from actually 40 different hometowns all across the Cowboy State \u2013 small towns, our larger towns, East, West, North, and South.\n\n\u201cI spend every Thanksgiving with deployed Wyoming troops. I go to thank them \u2013 thank them for all they\u2019re doing to keep all of us safe and free.\n\n\u201cMost Americans celebrate Thanksgiving surrounded by their loved ones. These soldiers spent Thanksgiving not with family and neighbors, but in the neighborhood of America\u2019s enemies.\n\n\u201cOur enemies today are much more dangerous, aggressive, menacing, and powerful than they were just four years ago. For the past four years, Americans have seen the current administration surrender, squander, and sell out our nation\u2019s strategic advantages.\n\n\u201cThis administration stopped enforcing sanctions on Iranian oil sales, then allowed Iran to sell discounted oil to China. Iran got richer and more menacing as a result of all the money they got. China got more powerful by being able to buy cheap energy.\n\n\u201cWell, the Wyoming soldiers that I had a chance to visit, they\u2019re strong, they\u2019re tough, they are brave. The thing that is so interesting though, is I believe that they\u2019re being failed by a Congress that hasn\u2019t done its job. It is incumbent upon Congress to make sure that all of these soldiers \u2013 each and every one of them \u2013 is fully equipped to protect our freedoms.\n\n\u201cThe Senate should have passed a bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act months ago. It increases troop pay, modernizes our military. It also refocuses our forces on specific military hard power, instead of this politically-correct, woke policies that the military has been working under over the past several years.\n\n\u201cRight now, high prices are crushing military families. Prices are 20 percent higher right now than they were four years ago. As a result, one in seven servicemembers today relies on food stamps or food banks just to support their families.\n\n\u201cThis of course has a direct impact in our problems, in terms of trying to recruit more and more members into our military. The pay rise means that a stronger military and a stronger America will be there on the world stage.\n\n\u201cNow, as for military modernization, we need to overcome four years of weakness. The current administration has failed to keep us safe.\n\n\u201cIt allowed 10 million illegal immigrants to cross our Southern Border. It allowed a Chinese spy balloon to fly across America. It led a deadly and disastrous retreat from Afghanistan. And it slashed away at America\u2019s hard power.\n\n\u201cUnder the Democrats, America became a nation in retreat. Well, the National Defense Authorization Act reverses that.\n\n\u201cIt equips our military. It equips them to meet the challenges of a dangerous world. So, why hasn\u2019t the Senate \u2013 this body, who is here today in session \u2013 why hasn\u2019t it yet passed the National Defense Authorization Act? Well, the problem isn\u2019t the product, it\u2019s the process.\n\n\u201cIn the final weeks of the majority, the Democrats in the Senate have prioritized voting to confirm radical judges rather than protecting our nation\u2019s security. As one Democrat Senator said last month, he said, Democrats are \u2018hell-bent\u2019, he said, on getting liberal judges confirmed.\n\n\u201cWhy can\u2019t Democrats show that same level of passion for supporting our troops?\n\n\u201cDemocrats\u2019 dithering and delaying \u2013 it\u2019s downright dangerous. It sends a terrible message that America\u2019s deterrence isn\u2019t incredible.\n\n\u201cAs a result of the November elections, that\u2019s about to change. The Senate\u2019s going to change. The American people voted for change. They voted to return to a nation that is safe and strong.\n\n\u201cIn less than 60 days, America will once again have a president and a Senate majority that prioritizes making America safe and strong again.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:07:19Z"]], "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://www.barrasso.senate.gov/newsroom-news-releases-barrasso-presses-for-urgent-action-on-ndaa/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5042899176478386, "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"}