Mike Levin: “on behalf of the Senate Armed Services Committee, we are pleased to bring S. 1197, the National Defense Authorization…”

“on behalf of the Senate Armed Services Committee, we are pleased to bring S. 1197, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014, to the Senate floor. The Armed Services Committee approved the bill by a 23-3 vote on June 13, making this the 52nd consecutive year our committee has reported the Defense Authorization Act. The strong bipartisan vote for this bill in the Armed Services Committee continues the tradition of our committee, where our Members have continued to come together to support the national defense and our men and women in uniform. I thank Senator Inhofe for the major contribution he has made to this process in his first year as the ranking Republican on the committee. This year's bill would authorize $625.1 billion for national defense programs, the same amount as the President's budget request. Unless the Congress acts to modify or eliminate the sequestration required by the Budget Control Act, however, this amount will automatically be reduced by $50 billion, leaving the Department of Defense with far less than it needs to meet the requirements of our national military strategy. U.S. forces are drawing down in Afghanistan and are no longer deployed in Iraq. However, the real threats to our national security remain and our forces are deployed throughout the globe.…”