Source: United States Senator for Oklahoma James Inhofe
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, made the following statement after he led Republican colleagues in demanding meaningful amendment votes during consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act:
“After Senator Reed and I filed this year’s NDAA on September 22, we’ve been doing everything we could to get Sen. Schumer to bring it to the floor. Instead, he waited until the last minute —and two weeks ago, we finally began the process of negotiating amendment votes. However, Sen. Schumer refused to allow amendment votes that would be meaningful and tough against Russia and China, our adversaries — and, as some would say, our enemies.
“It has never been more necessary to send a clear message that we are prepared to counter Russia and China. Russia is ready to take imminent action in Ukraine and has at least 90,000 troops on the border. China is about to invade Taiwan. Only yesterday, they flew 27 aircraft, including a tanker, into Taiwan’s air defense zone. The national security situation is more dire today than it was two days ago, and more dire two days ago than it was two weeks ago — Sen. Schumer’s delay in taking up the NDAA has been detrimental.
“However, if we don’t take bold votes to send a signal to Beijing and Moscow, we are allowing their provocative actions to go unanswered, and that is not what America is about. The Biden White House has been consistently weak when confronting provocations from Russia and China, and by blocking votes that would counter our adversaries, Sen. Schumer is just trying to protect the administration instead of American families.
“He isn’t in good company — China doesn’t want us to vote on provisions that will hold them accountable for forced labor and actions toward Taiwan, and neither does Sen. Schumer. Russia doesn’t want us to vote on provisions that will inflict sanctions against Russia to stop its power grab over European energy supplies or military build-up at the Ukraine border, and neither does Sen. Schumer.
“There is a way forward, if Sen. Schumer will be reasonable: allow additional amendment votes on the bill that will provide a real check to the ever-increasing provocations from Russia and China.”
Sen. Inhofe’s position tonight is consistent with his past votes. In 2010 and in 2013, then-Majority Leader Harry Reid also tried to limit amendment votes on the NDAA and Sen. Inhofe joined a majority of Republicans in voting against procedural cloture motions.