On the recordDecember 7, 2021
I want to commend both sides of the aisle for a rather strong National Defense Authorization Act and commend the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Rogers) for his revisions. Madam Speaker, it is a good top-line NDAA, it makes the strategic and tactical level investments necessary to catch up and keep pace with China. A lot of this technology that we are investing in is developed, built, and tested in my district, the 25th Congressional District. This removes red flag provisions. It allows for those who don't want to get vaccinated to be separated from the service with an honorable discharge. Clearly, I support this bill and it is an excellent NDAA. I do think we need to do better when it comes to our troops' base pay. Some may tout the 2.7 percent pay increase. I see it as anemic, frankly, and it is actually aggravating the pay gap between military servicemembers and their civilian counterparts. With record inflation, our troops, especially the junior enlisted, continue to be hammered financially. If we want to deter threats and win wars in the modern battlefield, which we have to, we need to attract and retain more talent. If we want to end things like conscription, and we should, we need to better incentivize our enlisted ranks to join and stay in. I urge support.
