Bill Lee: “reserving the right to object, I sat here and I heard some fairly hyperbolic arguments--arguments suggesting somehow…”

“reserving the right to object, I sat here and I heard some fairly hyperbolic arguments--arguments suggesting somehow that anyone who has other amendments they would like to have considered are somehow unpatriotic or unsympathetic if they don't allow these amendments to go through. The fact is, I have no problem with either of these amendments. I will gladly not only allow a vote on them, but I will also vote for the amendment from Senator Shaheen and the amendment from Senator Moran. I support both of them, but I would like a vote on my amendment as well. This is an issue I have worked on for 5 years. This issue arose 5 years ago when a provision was slipped into the NDAA that we passed that year that I think raises significant concerns. I have worked with my colleague, the senior Senator from California, and Senators on both sides of the aisle, and put together a proposal to deal with that language. We put that in and had a vote on it in 2012, and 67 Members of this body voted for it, including some of the people who have spoken in the last few minutes. This is an issue that became a part of our law because of the NDAA 5 years ago. It is appropriate to bring this up now. Moments ago, the Senator from South Carolina made reference to an objection I made to an amendment of his within the Senate Armed Services Committee on which he and I serve. It is true that I made an objection because in the committee we have some jurisdictional rules.…”