Mr. President, I rise today in support of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014. I commend the work of my colleagues on the Armed Services Committee, especially the chairman, Senator Levin, on reaching an agreement with the House to complete this important legislation. For 51 consecutive years, the Senate has passed a defense authorization bill, and I hope we will be able to soon send the bill before us to President Obama for his signature. We owe it to our servicemembers to pass a law that will support them and enable the DOD to execute this year's budget efficiently and effectively. We made tough decisions in putting together this bill--especially in these difficult economic times. But this bill will allow DOD to combat current threats, plan for future threats, and provide for the welfare of our brave servicemembers. While it is disappointing that we did not have sufficient time to debate amendments, this is a good compromise bill and it is critical that we pass it.…
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