Tommy Tuberville: “for more than 60 years, Congress has passed the NDAA to ensure our Armed Forces are able to keep Americans safe. The…”

“for more than 60 years, Congress has passed the NDAA to ensure our Armed Forces are able to keep Americans safe. The Armed Services Committee agreed on a robust, bipartisan bill in June--June. What I don't understand is why it took 6 months to schedule a vote on this critical bill. Waiting until the last minute to pass the NDAA is playing a game of chicken with our national security and with the American servicemember. I know most of my Democratic colleagues in both the House and Senate did not control the timing of this bill. But Senator Schumer did. And he decided to wait so long that our chairman and ranking member were forced to conference the bill prior to it coming to the Senate floor. So let's not wait until December 2023 to get the NDAA to the floor. Let's get the fiscal year 2024 NDAA to the floor in regular order--because the consequences of playing these games with the NDAA are severe. If Congress keeps the DOD guessing about when we might pass the NDAA, it hinders our ability to keep up with China, assert our dominance in space, keep command of the seas, and restock our missile defenses. If we fail to pass the NDAA or kick this to next year, we should keep in mind the consequences. There will be no raise for servicemembers and no spending increases to keep up with inflation. In short, we would be in a very dangerous situation. Providing for our common defense is one of the few responsibilities mandated by the Constitution for this body.…”