{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=A5457CB4-F931-4ADA-9335-C89B44D11D6E", "Thune: Long-Awaited NDAA Will Strengthen Ellsworth Air Force Base", "2024-12-12", "2024", "2024-12", "Republican", "Senate", "SD", "John Thune", "T000250", "www.thune.senate.gov", "thune", "https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases", "scraper", "Click here to watch the video.\n\nWASHINGTON \u2014 U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today spoke on the Senate floor about the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), legislation that would bolster American national security by making much-needed investments in the military. Thune noted that this year\u2019s NDAA includes critical resources for South Dakota\u2019s Ellsworth Air Force Base and fully funds the B-21 mission at Ellsworth.\n\nThune\u2019s remarks below (as delivered):\n\n\u201cMadam President, yesterday the House passed the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2025.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m glad that the Senate will finally take up the bill next week, and it should be on its way to the president\u2019s desk soon.\n\n\u201cBut there\u2019s no excuse for the delay.\n\n\u201cThe Senate Armed Services Committee passed its version of the bill six months ago. Six months ago.\n\n\u201cBut Leader Schumer never bothered to bring the Senate bill to the floor.\n\n\u201cAnd I can tell you right now that this will not be the case next year with the new Republican majority.\n\n\u201cNext year, the NDAA will not be placed on the backburner.\n\n\u201cIt will be a priority.\n\n\u201cMadam President, the NDAA \u2013 National Defense Authorization Act \u2013 is one of the most important bills that we consider each year.\n\n\u201cAnd that\u2019s even more true in a time of increasing instability on the world stage.\n\n\u201cAmerican service members have come under attack from Iran-backed groups in the Middle East.\n\n\u201cChina is taking increasingly brazen actions in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.\n\n\u201cRussia continues to wage unprovoked war on Ukraine.\n\n\u201cIsrael is defending itself against terrorists.\n\n\u201cAnd there\u2019s a disturbing trend of collaboration among our adversaries to sow chaos in every corner of the world.\n\n\u201cMadam President, the United States military stands guard against these threats and countless others.\n\n\u201cAnd it\u2019s critical that it has the resources and capabilities it needs to deter threats against America, and \u2013 if necessary \u2013 to respond.\n\n\u201cBut our readiness is not where it needs to be.\n\n\u201cAdversaries like China are outpacing us in defense investments.\n\n\u201cWe\u2019re falling behind in critical technologies.\n\n\u201cThe number of Air Force planes and Navy ships is approaching record lows.\n\n\u201cOur supply and production of munitions is inadequate to meet demand.\n\n\u201cAnd our military increasingly depends on rapidly aging supplies and infrastructure.\n\n\u201cMadam President, we need to turn this around.\n\n\u201cAnd I am pleased that this year\u2019s National Defense Authorization Act addresses some of these serious readiness issues.\n\n\u201cAnd I want to say right out that it\u2019s not a perfect bill.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m disappointed the bill we\u2019ll be voting on doesn\u2019t include Senator Wicker\u2019s proposed \u2013 and sorely needed \u2013 defense increase, which received bipartisan support in the Armed Services Committee.\n\n\u201cAnd I will push for needed additional funding in the coming year.\n\n\u201cBut I am pleased that this bill directs resources to a number of priorities.\n\n\u201cIt upgrades our capabilities in advanced technologies like hypersonics, missile defense, drones, and artificial intelligence.\n\n\u201cIt addresses our munitions challenges, expands Navy shipbuilding, and reverses the shrinking Air Force fleet.\n\n\u201cIt ensures the Pentagon is focused on defense, not diversity programs.\n\n\u201cIt supports our allies in Israel and Taiwan.\n\n\u201cAnd it provides a pay raise to our troops and a larger pay hike for junior enlisted members.\n\n\u201cMadam President, this bill is a step forward on the path to closing the readiness deficit that we currently have.\n\n\u201cAnd South Dakota will play a critical role in closing that gap.\n\n\u201cIn 2019, the Air Force announced that Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota would host the first B-21 Raider mission.\n\n\u201cThe B-21 will be the backbone of the Air Force\u2019s bomber fleet.\n\n\u201cIt will enable the United States to project power and deter threats around the world.\n\n\u201cAnd it will employ some of the most advanced technology in executing its stealth missions.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m proud that this bill fully funds the B-21 at Ellsworth and the support facilities that will be needed to house this critical mission.\n\n\u201cMadam President, when I look at where we are today, it\u2019s sometimes hard to remember that not long after I was elected to the Senate, Ellsworth was slated for closure by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission.\n\n\u201cI spent some of my first months as a senator in a sprint to save the base.\n\n\u201cThere were those who wondered whether a small state like South Dakota would have the clout to protect Ellsworth.\n\n\u201cBut we got to work, and with the combined efforts of a lot of people, we kept the base.\n\n\u201cWe proved that closing Ellsworth would not only cost more money, it would diminish readiness.\n\n\u201cAnd the commission voted to keep Ellsworth open.\n\n\u201cBut we didn\u2019t stop there.\n\n\u201cWe went right back to work to make sure that Ellsworth would never be threatened with closure again.\n\n\u201cAnd today, it is an undisputed asset to the Air Force and to our national defense.\n\n\u201cMadam President, national defense has always been a priority for me.\n\n\u201cI believe in peace through strength.\n\n\u201cI believe that deterrence works, and it\u2019s a lot cheaper to invest in a strong military by choice than to spend on a war by necessity.\n\n\u201cAnd so I can promise that next year, national security will be a priority in the Senate.\n\n\u201cWe will work to make sure that the military has everything it needs to project American strength and to keep the peace.\n\n\u201cMadam President, I yield the floor.\u201d", 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.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=A5457CB4-F931-4ADA-9335-C89B44D11D6E"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5323751140385866, "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"}