Dan Coats: “I wish to speak about several amendments I have submitted to the Defense authorization bill currently before the Senate.…”

“I wish to speak about several amendments I have submitted to the Defense authorization bill currently before the Senate. First, I wish to commend Chairman McCain in his first mission as chairman of the Armed Services Committee. The bill before us bears his imprint and that of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and it addresses the growing challenges facing our military. This legislation came out of committee in a bipartisan way and came to the floor with the opportunity for every Member of the Senate to offer amendments to this bill. It was an open amendment process, something we have been doing this year that hasn't been done previously under the leadership of the now minority. Unfortunately, that effort was blocked by the minority, and we now are where we are. I have introduced amendments that will hopefully be carried now in a manager's package with the support of Senator McCain and others here. I just want to describe what those were. First of all, let me say that despite the efforts of the minority to block our progress on this bill, perhaps one of the most essential things the Senate and the Congress does in any year is to provide for the common defense by passing authorization and appropriations for our military so that they have the policy and the authority and the resources to be able to conduct their efforts, both defending us here at home and dealing with issues overseas.…”