John Cornyn: “this weekend, the American people will celebrate 244 years since our Nation's independence. Over these last two and a…”

“this weekend, the American people will celebrate 244 years since our Nation's independence. Over these last two and a half centuries, our country has faced and defeated many enemies who have sought to undermine the very foundation of our way of life. They sought to take away our freedom, undermine our values, and destroy our way of life. They also in the process sought to instill fear, hate, and perpetrate violence. But each time, our country has prevailed. It is really a miracle, if you look back at our Nation's history, that we made it through a civil war, two world wars, and we find ourselves still the beacon of liberty that attracts so many people from around the world who want to live here and become Americans and pursue their dreams here. All of that starts with our security. As we celebrate our independence and generations of men and women who fought to protect it, we are now engaged in fulfilling our most important responsibility, and that is to provide for the common defense. We do that by advancing the National Defense Authorization Act. This bill is an annual exercise and is part of Congress's commitment to give our men and women in uniform the support they need to defeat those threats and to prepare for ones that will inevitably come tomorrow. We have done this for the last 59 years. Believe it or not, we have been consistent and done this for the past 59 years. I can't think of any other area where Congress has been so consistent.…”