{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=683FF56C-5BFE-4649-A10B-35CAE4E38BE0", "Thune: Funding for Men and Women in Uniform Must Be a Top Priority in Congress", "2020-12-03", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "Senate", "SD", "John Thune", "T000250", "www.thune.senate.gov", "thune", "https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases", "scraper", "U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today discussed the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), annual legislation that authorizes funding for the U.S. military, including our men and women in uniform. Thune emphasized the importance of this historically bipartisan legislation for restoring the nation\u2019s military readiness and preparedness. This year\u2019s NDAA also prioritizes an improved quality of life for U.S. troops through increased pay and improvements in military health care and housing. The Senate passed its version of the NDAA in July by a vote of 84 to 14, and it is currently being reconciled with the House-passed version.\n\nThune also honored Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), who will be retiring from the Senate at the conclusion of the year. He recognized Enzi as an outstanding legislator and thoughtful human being and expressed his gratitude for Enzi\u2019s commitment to the American people.\n\nThune\u2019s remarks below (as prepared for delivery):\n\n\u201cMr. President, I was pleased that the Senate unanimously agreed yesterday to proceed to conference on the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act.\n\n\u201cThe NDAA is one of the most important pieces of legislation we pass every year.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s the bill that authorizes funding for our troops and lays out our defense priorities.\n\n\u201cLike the last two NDAAs, this year\u2019s bill focuses on restoring military readiness and ensuring that our nation is prepared to meet threats posed by major powers like Russia and China.\n\n\u201cIn November 2018, the bipartisan National Defense Strategy Commission released a report warning that our readiness had eroded to the point where we might struggle to win a war against a major power like Russia or China.\n\n\u201cAnd the commission noted that we would be especially vulnerable if we were ever called on to fight a war on two fronts.\n\n\u201cOver the past two years, we\u2019ve made real progress on restoring military readiness.\n\n\u201cBut we still have more work to do.\n\n\u201cAnd this year\u2019s National Defense Authorization Act continues our investment in ensuring that our military is prepared to meet current and future threats \u2013 in any domain.\n\n\u201cOf course, no matter what weapons or tanks or planes we have, our greatest military resource will always be our men and women in uniform, and this year\u2019s NDAA invests in improving the quality of life for our military members and their families.\n\n\u201cThe bill supports a 3 percent pay raise for our troops, and it builds on previous measures to improve military health care and housing.\n\n\u201cIt will also provide support for military families in areas like child care and professional development for military spouses.\n\n\u201cMr. President, as I said, this bill is one of the most important measures we pass every year.\n\n\u201cAnd we need to make sure that we pass the final version of this legislation before Christmas.\n\n\u201cFailing to pass this legislation would send the wrong message to our troops and our allies \u2013 and to our adversaries.\n\n\u201cWhile this may not be a perfect bill, it contains a lot of important provisions to rebuild our military and give our men and women in uniform the tools they need to defend our nation.\n\n\u201cWe need to pass it as soon as possible.\n\n****************\n\n\u201cMr. President, yesterday afternoon, Mike Enzi delivered his farewell address.\n\n\u201cAnd while Mike has more than earned his retirement over a long and dedicated career in Washington and in Wyoming, we are going to miss him here in the Senate.\n\n\u201cMike is an accountant and spent years as a small businessman, and he brought that background \u2013 and common sense \u2013 to Washington.\n\n\u201cIn many ways, he\u2019s been the conscience of the Senate on spending issues, reminding us that we don\u2019t have an unlimited amount of money to spend and that every dollar we add to the debt is a burden that will have to be met by our children and grandchildren.\n\n\u201cAs chairman of the Budget Committee, he has passed budgets with an eye to restraining spending and lessening the burden we place on future generations.\n\n\u201cHis 2018 budget also paved the way for the landmark Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which reformed America\u2019s outdated tax code, helped create jobs and opportunities for workers, and put more money in the pockets of American families.\n\n\u201cMike is an outstanding legislator.\n\n\u201cAnd he\u2019s also one of the finest human beings you will ever meet.\n\n\u201cI think all of us have benefited from his thoughtfulness at one time or another.\n\n\u201cI remember when I was experiencing heel pain a few years back, I mentioned it to Mike, who was a shoe salesman and shoe store owner.\n\n\u201cWell, a few days later, Mike comes up to me with heel inserts for my shoes \u2013 which, I might add, helped a lot.\n\n\u201cIt was typical of Mike \u2013 thoughtful and practical.\n\n\u201cIn business, as everyone knows, the customer comes first, and Mike has brought that attitude to his 24 years in the Senate.\n\n\u201cAs a shoe salesman, he put his customers first, and as a senator, he\u2019s always put his constituents \u2013 and the American people \u2013 first.\n\n\u201cHe\u2019s never forgotten how to help people, and he has worked hard every day he has been here in the Senate to make life better for Americans.\n\n\u201cHe\u2019s an outstanding colleague and friend, and I will miss his wisdom and expertise \u2013 and his great fishing stories.\n\nMike, I wish you the very best of everything in your retirement.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m glad you\u2019ll have more time to spend with Diana and the kids and grandkids, and more time to enjoy Wyoming.\n\n\u201cWhile no state will ever compare to South Dakota in my book, I\u2019ve got to say that Wyoming is spectacularly beautiful, and I\u2019m glad you\u2019ll be able to be there now full-time.\n\n\u201cBut you will be missed.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"]], "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/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=683FF56C-5BFE-4649-A10B-35CAE4E38BE0"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8876752108335495, "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"}