Source: United States Senator for Oklahoma James Inhofe
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, spoke on the Senate floor today urging Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to bring to the floor the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which authorizes funding levels and provides key authorities for the U.S. military and other defense priorities.
As Prepared for Delivery:
There’s this little old document that no one reads anymore called the Constitution, and I think some of my colleagues should give it another read today. The Constitution tells us what Congress is supposed to be doing here, and that’s national defense. It’s right there at the top.
So, for 61 years in a row, Congress has fulfilled this duty by passing a National Defense Authorization Act to strengthen the common defense and support our troops. 61 years – that’s a pretty long track record. This year will be number 62, and I’m proud to say that I’ve had the opportunity to vote on over half of them. So I think I have a pretty good understanding of what it takes to get this bill done.
The way this typically works, the House does their bill. Then the Senate does ours, and we go to conference and create a bipartisan, bicameral conference report. That takes time — months really. So, when I look at the legislative calendar, I get concerned. The days are ticking down, and frankly, we’re running out of time to get this bill done the right way.
Senator Reed and I believe deeply in this bill. We held a markup on June 15 and reported out a strong, bipartisan bill. That’s three months ago. We’ve got an election in November that will likely eat away at the limited time we do have.
We saw last year what happens when this bill isn’t given enough floor time. Last year, Majority Leader Schumer waited until the last possible moment to try to jam through the NDAA without debate right before Thanksgiving. If he delays again, we don’t get an open amendment process, where every Senator has another chance to improve the bill.
If he delays, we get jammed in negotiating a conferenced bill with the House. The whole process will take longer, which leaves our military with more uncertainty and prevents them from moving out and getting things done. There are real consequences to waiting this long.
It’s bad for this institution, it’s bad for our troops, and it’s bad for our national security.
I understand some of my colleagues, including the Majority Leader, have different priorities than I do, but I think this is the most important bill we do all year. This year, that’s as true as ever. It’s hard to overstate the scale and scope of the threats we face.
Senator Reed and I believe deeply in this bill because it responds to those threats and it takes care of our troops. We finished markup three months ago. We could have gotten started on it already. Selfishly, I want to get this bill done because it will be my last. I would hate to leave here without finishing the NDAA — without fulfilling our promises to our troops and to the American people.
I would hate even more to see this bill’s six-decade track record broken. For the last four years, as Chairman and now as Ranking Member of the Armed Services Committee, I have fought tirelessly to pass this bill. I know the Majority Leader doesn’t want to be responsible for the demise of Congress’s last remaining annual authorization bill.
There’s really no time to waste. The Senate must consider the NDAA now.