On the recordDecember 17, 2019
I want to first thank Senator Inhofe and Senator Reed and their staff for their amazing work on this National Defense Authorization Act. What we are about to accomplish is truly remarkable, not only for America but for individuals and families. I am rising today as grateful and as humbled as I could ever imagine being in this Senate Chamber, but I am also just the opposite--I am excited like a kid at Christmas waiting to have the final passage of this because it means so much. We are at the finish line, about to run through the tape in a race, a marathon that so many folks thought we could never finish. I am talking about this momentous and historic National Defense Authorization Act upon which we are about to vote and pass in just a few moments. The NDAA includes so many of our collective priorities to bolster the defense of our Nation, to modernize our military, and to take care of our servicemembers and their families. But included very deep within this incredibly thick piece of legislation is a provision that has been repeatedly introduced over the past 18 years, but it has never gotten across that finish line. I am speaking about the Military Widow's Tax Elimination Act. For the past four decades, the military widow's tax has prevented surviving military spouses from receiving the full benefits they are owed by the U.S. Government.…
