Political Quotes

“I rise to express my support for the fiscal year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act. I am pleased, as we all are, that we will be voting soon on passage. I would like to thank Ranking Member Inhofe for his leadership and his thoughtfulness on this bill. He has been an excellent partner throughout this whole process. Our Nation faces an enormous range of security challenges, and it is more important than ever that we provide our military men and women with the support they need to keep Americans safe. To that end, this bill makes great progress. It addresses a broad range of pressing issues, from strategic competition with China and Russia, to disruptive technologies like hypersonics, AI, and quantum computing, to modernizing our ships, aircraft, and vehicles. It provides our servicemembers with the resources and support they need to defend our Nation, while at the same taking care of their families. Importantly, this bill authorizes a well-deserved 2.7-percent pay raise for both military members and the DOD civilian workforce. It also increases parental leave to 12 weeks for all servicemembers and creates a new 2-week bereavement leave benefit for both military and Federal civilian employees. I want to especially note that this bill includes historic, sweeping reforms to the Uniform Code of Military Justice and how the military investigates and prosecutes sexual assault and other offenses, including murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, and many other crimes.…”