{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.thune.senate.gov/news/press-releases/thune-senate-to-prioritize-passage-of-ndaa/", "Thune: Senate to Prioritize Passage of NDAA", "2026-06-17", "2026", "2026-06", "Republican", "Senate", "SD", "John Thune", "T000250", "www.thune.senate.gov", "thune", "https://www.thune.senate.gov/news/press-releases/", "scraper", "Click here to watch the video.\n\nWASHINGTON \u2014 U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor:\n\nThune\u2019s remarks below (as delivered):\n\n\u201cMr. President, last week, a U.S. Army Apache helicopter went down off the coast of Oman.\n\n\u201cWithin two hours, a rescue boat had located the pilots.\n\n\u201cBut this was not an ordinary rescue boat, Mr. President.\n\n\u201cFor the first time ever, an unmanned sea drone was sent to pick up the pilots and bring them to safety.\n\n\u201cMr. President, from the battlefields of Ukraine to the conflict with Iran, drones and other unmanned systems have become the weapon of choice.\n\n\u201cYet the United States military has been dangerously behind in drone and counter-drone capabilities.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019ve made considerable progress in just the last year \u2013 as evidenced by the rescue last week.\n\n\u201cBut we still have more work to do.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s where the National Defense Authorization Act comes in.\n\n\u201cMr. President, I often say if we don\u2019t get national security right, the rest is just conversation.\n\n\u201cAnd this annual defense bill is one of the most important bills we consider each year because it\u2019s where we make the policies that help ensure we do get national security right.\n\n\u201cWe pass this bill every year so that these policies are up to date \u2013 so that we\u2019re giving our men and women in uniform the very best equipment and capabilities to do the job we ask them to do.\n\n\u201cMr. President, last week the Armed Services Committee reported out the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2027, and I\u2019m proud to say that this bill authorizes important investments to improve readiness and to provide the capabilities that we need to keep America safe today and into the future.\n\n\u201cThat includes a heavy focus on unmanned systems.\n\n\u201cThis bill would create a new combatant command overseeing these technologies.\n\n\u201cIt authorizes $1 billion in unmanned maritime systems.\n\n\u201cSupports drone and counter-drone capabilities at military bases and at America\u2019s borders.\n\n\u201cAnd will ensure that we are able to produce and procure enough munitions for all of these systems as well.\n\n\u201cAnd drones, Mr. President, are just the beginning.\n\n\u201cThere\u2019s a lot more in this year\u2019s NDAA to strengthen America\u2019s military, improve readiness, and keep our armed services on the cutting edge.\n\n\u201cOne of those things is shipbuilding.\n\n\u201cThe bill reported out of committee authorizes investment in a number of new ships, including accelerating procurement of amphibious warfare ships and supporting domestic shipbuilding and repair capabilities.\n\n\u201cAs for our air power, this year\u2019s bill will help ensure we maintain a force of at least 1,800 fighters.\n\n\u201cIt supports the new B-21 long-range strategic bomber, which is expected to land at Ellsworth Air Force Base in my home state sometime next year.\n\n\u201cAnd it allows for multi-year procurement for fighter planes, which will allow the Pentagon to do business more efficiently with greater predictability and save taxpayers money.\n\n\u201cMr. President, this year\u2019s bill builds on the significant reforms to defense acquisition we enacted in last year\u2019s NDAA in a number of ways.\n\n\u201cAs I mentioned, it allows for multi-year procurement contracts for fighter aircraft as well as for munitions and vehicles.\n\n\u201cAnd it accelerates the process for new software to come online, removing unnecessary red tape that delays getting new technology into the hands of American soldiers.\n\n\u201cAnd speaking of our men and women in uniform, Mr. President, I\u2019m pleased to be able to say that this bill authorizes a 3.6 percent pay raise for our military members.\n\n\u201cIt also supports a number of quality-of-life improvements, including investments in education, health care, and child care for service members and their families.\n\n\u201cMr. President, as I\u2019ve already said, this is an important bill, and drafting a bill of this size is not a simple task.\n\n\u201cI appreciate the hard work by our colleagues on the Armed Services Committee.\n\n\u201cThanks to the leadership of Chairman Wicker and Ranking Member Reed, we have \u2013 for the 66th year, now, in a row \u2013 a bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act.\n\n\u201cThat too is no small feat.\n\n\u201cMr. President, when it comes to military capabilities, we just can\u2019t play catch-up; we need to be the leader in the capabilities that will define the future.\n\n\u201cCapabilities that will keep Americans safe by making our enemies think twice before crossing us.\n\n\u201cThat\u2019s peace through strength.\n\n\u201cBut you can\u2019t get there with a strong budget one year and a weak budget the next.\n\n\u201cWe ask members of the armed forces to be ready whenever we need them, wherever we need them, and for whatever we need them to do.\n\n\u201cAnd we here have an obligation to make sure that when that call comes, they have what they need to answer it.\n\n\u201cMr. President, we need to make every concerted effort every year to strengthen our military.\n\n\u201cThere\u2019s never a time when we can afford to put this on the backburner.\n\n\u201cTry as we might, we simply don\u2019t know what\u2019s coming over the horizon.\n\n\u201cAnd we\u2019ll eventually pay the price for failing to invest in a strong national defense today.\n\n\u201cMr. President, 251 years ago this week, the Continental Congress created the Continental Army and appointed George Washington its commander-in-chief.\n\n\u201cFor 251 years, Americans have bravely gone to fight our nation\u2019s battles.\n\n\u201cAnd for 251 years, it\u2019s been Congress\u2019 job to stand behind them and provide what they need to execute the mission.\n\n\u201cThe face of the battle has changed, but the fundamental duty \u2013 theirs and ours \u2013 has not.\n\n\u201cAs Washington himself said, and I quote, \u2018If we desire to avoid insult, we must be able to repel it; if we desire to secure peace \u2026 it must be known that we are at all times ready for war.\u2019\n\n\u201cMr. President, we have to get national security right.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m glad this year\u2019s National Defense Authorization Act is up to the task, and I look forward to bringing it to the floor very soon.\u201d", 1, "2026-06-18T06:41:00Z", "2026-06-18T06:43:25Z"]], "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.thune.senate.gov/news/press-releases/thune-senate-to-prioritize-passage-of-ndaa/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7650339975953102, "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"}