releases: https://www.reed.senate.gov/news/speeches/reed-discusses-fy-2017-ndaa-on-the-senate-floor
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| https://www.reed.senate.gov/news/speeches/reed-discusses-fy-2017-ndaa-on-the-senate-floor | Reed Discusses FY 2017 NDAA on the Senate Floor | 2016-12-07 | 2016 | 2016-12 | Democrat | House | RI | Jack Reed | R000122 | www.reed.senate.gov | legacy | 12/07/2016 — Mr. REED - Madam President, I rise to discuss the National Defense Authorization Act. After several months of debate and negotiation, the House and Senate Armed Services Committees have arrived at a completed conference agreement. This will be the 55th consecutive time that we pass a National Defense Authorization Act, which sets national security policy and provides important authorities to the Department of Defense. I want to begin by thanking Chairman McCain for his leadership during the course of this year. At his direction, the Senate Armed Services Committee undertook a robust review of how the Department develops strategic guidance and executes their business processes to help the Department operate more effectively and efficiently. I commend the chairman for making this effort a priority for the committee, and I appreciate his willingness to work in a bipartisan fashion on this important endeavor. The conference report we are considering today includes many Senate reforms, including efforts to improve the defense strategy documents produced by the Department and reorganizing the Office of Acquisition, Technology and Logistics to ensure that the Pentagon emphasizes research and innovation in support of our warfighters. In particular, one of the most important reform efforts included in the final conference agreement is a Senate provision that would create cross-functional teams. This is a new tool for the Secretary of Defense to manage the formation and implementation of policies and solutions for complex problems that inherently cut across the many stovepiped functional organizations in the Department of Defense. The private sector has pioneered and mastered this highly effective integration mechanism for a generation, and business schools and business consultancies have championed its use for decades. I consider this provision to be one of the most important reform initiatives in this bill. None of this would have happened without the leadership, guidance, and constant urging of the chairman, Senator McCain. Once again, I commend him for his extraordinary efforts. As these reforms are introduced, it is imperative that we continue to collaborate with the Department of Defense to ensure that these reforms contribute to our national security and do not create unnecessary and detrimental consequences. This will be a partnership going forward to ensure that these reforms are adequate, appropriate, and work for the benefit of the men and women in uniform, and that is a process in which we will all be engaged. With respect to the budget, the conference agreement we are considering today authorizes a total of $619 billion, which includes $543.4 billion in base budget funding for the Department of Defense and certain security activities of the Department of Energy and $67.8 billion in overseas contingency operations, or OCO, funding. This OCO amount includes $5.8 billion in supplemental funding requested by President Obama for operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, as well as an additional $3.2 billion above President Obama's budget request for base budget requirements primarily devoted to increased end strength. I have serious concerns about increasing OCO funding above the President's budget request without a corresponding increase in domestic spending. While the OCO account is exempt from budget caps, the purpose of the Budget Control Act was to establish proportionately equal caps on defense and nondefense discretionary spending to force a bipartisan compromise on the budget. During consideration of the NDAA, the House and Senate had different approaches on how best to fund these base budget requirements and ongoing military operations. However, after a robust debate, we reached an agreement on a modest increase in OCO to fund increased end strength and to replenish depleted munitions inventories. With respect to Afghanistan, the conference agreement supports our military operations. Specifically, the bill authorizes approximately 8,400 troops in Afghanistan in 2017, including fully funding the Afghan Security Forces Fund at $4.26 billion to continue support to the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces. Likewise, the bill contains $814 million to enhance the capabilities of the Afghan Air Force and begin a transition from Mi-17 to the UH-60 helicopters. Also--and this is an issue that I support very strongly after a recent trip to Afghanistan--it accelerates the Afghan Aviation Initiative, which is designed to build greater rotary wing capability and fixed-wing capabilities in the Afghan Air Force. This is a critical battlefield advantage that the Afghan forces will have over the Taliban. With respect to Europe, we have fully funded the President's request of $3.4 billion for the European Reassurance Initiative. This funding will support critical investments that will increase rotational U.S. military presence in Europe, improve key infrastructure, and enhance allied and partner military capabilities to respond to external aggression and preserve regional stability. The agreement also includes an authorization of $350 million for the Ukraine training assistance initiative, to continue and expand security assistance and intelligence support to the Ukrainian security forces to protect their sovereignty and encourage a continued focus on robust defense reform efforts. With regard to our special operations forces, they are at the forefront of our fight against ISIL, Al Qaeda, and other terrorist groups. The bill also includes important reforms designed to improve the oversight and advocacy for their important efforts by enhancing the role of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict. I think those reforms will be something we watch and encourage. With respect to other aspects of our security programs, the conference agreement includes a comprehensive reform of Defense Department security cooperation programs. This is the first time such a reform has been undertaken, and it is an effort to ensure there is unity of effort across our government in the security assistance arena. Likewise, the conference agreement includes a provision that would enhance the scope and authority of the Global Engagement Center. For too long we have been losing the information space to our adversaries-- both state and nonstate actors. It is my hope that by providing this critical center at the State Department with a powerful mandate, we can begin to improve our efforts in the information space. The bill also supports modernization efforts of many different weapons platforms. I am particularly pleased to see that we are continuing two-per-year construction of the Virginia-class submarine. It also supports additional requests for advance procurement to keep this production on track. Furthermore, it authorizes $1.9 billion for the Ohio-class replacement, including the first strategic nuclear submarine procurement funds, to begin the process of reinvigorating and rebuilding our underwater nuclear deterrence through the Ohio-class replacement. In addition to modernization of our underwater forces, we are also looking at modernizing our triad of air, sea, and ground delivery platforms for strategic deterrence. This is the beginning of a multi- decade effort involving three major acquisition programs: our ballistic missile submarines--as I have mentioned, the Ohio-class replacement-- long-range penetrating bombers, and also the land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles. Most importantly, we will be modernizing their command and control systems to ensure that our President always has positive control of these forces. As I have stated many times, modernization is critical in light of the increasingly belligerent actions by Russia, which conducted a nuclear exercise immediately after invading Crimea as a form of nuclear intimidation. In the area of technology and acquisition, I am pleased the conference report takes a number of important steps to help DOD maintain its technological superiority. We continue to build on past work on acquisition reform undertaken by the committee, as well as the successes of Defense Secretary Carter and his colleagues, including Under Secretary Kendall, in controlling the costs of major weapons systems procurement programs. The agreement includes a number of steps to improve defense acquisition processes, including strengthening the acquisition workforce, simplifying and streamlining regulatory and bureaucratic burdens on the government and industry, making it easier for DOD to work with innovative small businesses and commercial companies, and promoting the use of prototyping and rapid fielding to speed the development and deployment of advanced new systems. In the area of technological innovation, I hope that reconstituting the position of Under Secretary of Research and Engineering will help promote connections with innovators both inside and outside of the government and ensure that the policies and practices governing our R&D programs, our defense labs, and our engagements with universities and industry are optimized to promote the most efficient and effective development of new systems and technologies. Finally, I think the conference report includes important provisions designed to streamline and modernize Pentagon management processes. The bill supports efforts to develop and execute the modern management techniques and practices modeled on private sector best practices, including the use of big data to improve Pentagon business processes. I believe that refining Pentagon management practices will result in cost savings and efficiencies, freeing up funds for other critical needs. I note that the conferees did not include several provisions regarding the application of Obama administration Executive orders related to labor, safe workplace, and LGBT issues. Many of these are very problematic. I hope we continue to work to ensure the Department engages with fiscally and socially responsible and effective contractors to the best benefit of warfighters and taxpayers alike. Of course, one of the key issues for the committee was the readiness of troops. I am pleased the conference report includes significant resources for the military services' unfunded requirements, with the goal of restoring full-spectrum readiness as soon as possible. For example, the bill includes additional funding for Army units to conduct additional home station training in order to prepare them for future combat training center rotations, as well as additional flight training for the other services. We have also included significant resources in order to provide additional depot maintenance to repair our military aircraft, ships, and combat vehicles. There is also additional funding to better sustain our military installations, specifically in the facilities restoration and modernization accounts. In the area of military personnel, the conference agreement accomplishes much on behalf of our servicemembers and the Department of Defense because we owe them much. It authorizes a 2.1 percent pay raise for all servicemembers, supports requested increases in the housing benefit, and reauthorizes a number of expiring bonus and special pay authorities to encourage enlistment, reenlistment, and continued service by Active-Duty and Reserve component military personnel. Unfortunately, the bill does not include the provision in the Senate- passed bill that would have required women to register for the draft to the same extent men are required. I continue to believe this is the right policy for the Nation and the military. If we are going to have a draft, women must share equally the burden and privilege of service. We must be able to take advantage of their extraordinary talents because without those talents our military today could not function as it does. However, the bill does establish an independent national commission on military, national, and public service to study the need for a military selective service process, including whether the Nation continues to need a mechanism designed to draft large numbers of replacement combat troops; whether women should be required to participate equally in the process; the means by which to foster a greater attitude and ethos of service among the United States' young men and women, including an increased propensity for military service; and how to obtain military, national, and public service individuals with skills for which the Nation has a critical need. This commission could provide valuable insight on how we should proceed, particularly in a state of national emergency, in pulling together the best of our young people to serve the Nation. With respect to health care, the bill contains a robust package of health care reforms that will bring the military health care program in line with the best practices in the civilian health care industry. This is something we have to continue to emphasize--the ability to care and treat all of our personnel and retirees with respect to their health care. I think we have done a lot of important work in this legislation. Let me conclude, as I began, by thanking Chairman McCain and my Senate colleagues on the committee for their thoughtful contributions to this process. I also thank my colleagues on the House Armed Services Committee, Chairman Mac Thornberry and Ranking Member Adam Smith. They did a superb job, along with their staffs. This was truly a thoughtful, bipartisan process that resulted in a bill that I believe will receive overwhelming support on the floor of the Senate, as it did in the House. Finally, of course, this agreement would not have been possible without the extraordinary work of the staff. I thank so many, but I particularly thank Chris Brose, Steve Barney, and all the majority committee staff for their hard work. On the Democratic side, I thank my staff director, Elizabeth King. I also thank Gary Leeling, Creighton Greene, Carolyn Chuhta, Maggie McNamara, Jonathan Clark, Jonathan Epstein, Ozge Guzelsu, Jody Bennett, Mike Kuiken, Kirk McConnell, Mike Noblet, John Quirk, Arun Seraphin, and Jon Green. I deeply appreciate all of their efforts. They have made this bill possible. With that, I yield the floor. Print Email Tweet | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |