Jackie Speier: “Let me also say to my colleague, the chair of the committee, what an outstanding job he has done. I want to thank my…”

“Let me also say to my colleague, the chair of the committee, what an outstanding job he has done. I want to thank my ranking member, Mr. Kelly, for his good leadership as well. Since coming to Congress, I have voted against more NDAAs than I have voted for. This year, I will be voting for the NDAA, not because it is perfect, not because it achieves every Democratic priority, and not because I am satisfied. I am voting for this bill because it achieves monumental progressive victories; and the day after the President signs this bill, many of our servicemembers and their families will recognize that we have been listening to them. Let me highlight a few provisions that make me proud to vote for this bill. After 70 years, we have tackled the Feres doctrine, setting aside $400 million over 10 years to provide justice and compensation for medical malpractice performed at noncombat settings. The process of providing compensation for malpractice during nonmission healthcare should be governed by the Administrative Procedure Act, guaranteeing a public comment process for creating the program plus judicial review. We required the Marine Corps to join the rest of the services and finally provide gender-integrated basic training to platoons, recognizing that women marines are marines just like men.…”