and policy for the next year. president trump objected to provisions to remove confederate names from military installations and the failure to repeal section 230, which gives protection to social media companies. here is a look at the house debate from earlier in the month before they passed the $740 billion bill by a vote of three of the 35-78. i now yield myself five minutes. >> the gentleman is recognized. >> i vice in support of the report before us today. this is the defense policy bill and this is an important piece of legislation. there is a lot a public debate about different issues that rise to the level of people arguing, they are passionate issues, but lost in that sometimes is the basic substance of what we do in the defense policy bill and that is we exercise our lettuce laid of authority to do oversight of

the pentagon and national security policy and on that measure, this bill is an incredibly important piece of legislation. with, we address the issue of diversity within the military. i really want to thank the congressional black caucus and the congressional hispanic caucus, specifically anthony brown, veronica escobar and ruben gallego, for their leadership in putting forward policy that will address the diversity problems that we have. our military right now in its leadership and in its recruitment does not adequately reflect the diversity of this country. this bill puts in place a chief diversity officer at the pentagon and takes a number of other steps to try to correct that. to make sure that we have a military that reflects the diversity of this country and that meets the equity and social justice requirements. i think that is an incredibly important policy statement, a step forward. we also implement a number of the provisions from a defense policy board, led by eric and bob, focusing on artificial intelligence. i heard some members speaking earlier about the importance of

that. we have a series of recommendations for how the department of defense can do a better job of getting a.i. right. developing the technology and using it, but also broader technologies as well. the pentagon is woefully behind right now on taking advantage of the technologies that are crucial to getting us the proper defense going forward. i think that's incredibly important. we also have a provision that ranking member thornberry worked on. it's not the most sexy or exciting thing in the world, it's 300 pages of cleaning up the technical problems within the acquisition process at the pentagon. but it's crucially important. we have so many innovative technologies, so many small businesses out there that are generating great ideas, that would be terrific for the pentagon, but they can't get in. they can't penetrate the bureaucracy and figure out how to even do business, so most of them walk away. it's crucially important that we take steps to fix that. we also, a provision i've worked on a lot, dealing with satellites and launch, same things. encourage competition, encourage

innovation. regrettably, the pentagon has a somewhat understandable bias toward incumbents. they also have a bias toward large companies. but what that does is it makes it harder for that innovation, for those new technologies that are so crucial to get through, we make changes to address that. we also have a provision in this bill to deal with agent orange, to make sure that we're taking care of our troops. because that's a crucial part of our oversight as well. is to make sure that once the fighting is done, we don't forget the people who fought. that we help them. for too long veterans have not been able to access the health care they deserve. this bill addresses that. i know that mark takano and josh harder on our side worked very hard on this issue and i thank them for that. it's crucially important. i also want to take a moment to address the concerns that represented gaetz raised. he is not accurate in saying that we stopped the president from being able to move troops. all we do in afghanistan is we say, make sure you give us a reason. and frankly, if the president

doesn't give us a reason, he can exercise a national security waiver and not follow our advice. it is simply advice that says, yes, in my opinion, we need to get out of afghanistan, but we need to do it responsibly. it is a way crazy overstatement to say that we prevent a chief executive from pulling out of afghanistan. this bill does not do that. if you do it make sure you do it right so we protect our troops. overall i want to remind people it's incredibly important we pass this piece of legislation for a cusm basic reasons. number one, we are the legislative body. the one thing we have in common, house, senate, democrat, republican, is that we are all legislators. we all represent people. if we don't do our job, if we don't pass this bill and exercise oversight, we are ceding authority to the executive branch. an authority that is too great already. i think democrats and republicans agree on this as

well. granted when there is a democratic president republicans are more enthusiastic about it. we all agree there is too much executive power and not enough oversifplgte let's not walk away from our biggest opportunity to exercise that legislative oversight. this is a good bill. if we don't this, we are not fulfill one key aspect of our duties to our constituents. also the legislative process itself i think is incredibly important. these are times when we have a deeply divided nation and congress. that is precisely the moment when legislative authority is so important. it is how we come together and solve problems. i will tell you senator inhofe and i disagree on a lot. we also do not have a lot in common. but we have come together -- i yield myself an additional minute. we have come together on this bill because we recognize the importance of that process. you have to learn how to work with people you disagree with in order for civil society to

function. that's what we have done. now, sadly, this is the only conference report that we will vote on this session. i think it might be the only one we voted on in the last two years. i could be wrong about that. but if not, it's one of the precious few. though shows you how far we drifting away from exercising our responsibilities. if senator inhofe and i can come together and agree on this, we can all understand this is a good bipartisan compromise we should all support. i want to close thanking the staff. i have not worked with a better group of people on anything i have ever done in my life. the house staff, senate staff. outstanding people doing a difficult job. i want to do something i haven't done before and that is specifically thank the leg council and also apologize. every year we put this bill together seemingly at the last minute. it is a very big bill. every year we come up with our die he turns them over to the leg council on sunday and say

please do this. i'm sorry. we are going to try to do better in the future. thank you, thank you, thank you for the outstanding work you do. lastly i want to thank mac, this bill was named after him over his objection, he has done an outstanding job as chairman and ranking member of this committee. he will be missed. i really thank his leadership. without him this would not be possible. thank you very much. with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. thornberry: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from ohio, mr. turner. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio, mr. turner, is recognized for two minutes. mr. thornberry: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to continue our chairman's lauding of the career of mac thornberry, again over his observations. my 18 years i served in congress i can tell you not only has his leadership been essential on the armed services committee, but his time both as chairman and ranking member has been incredibly important. he has served the nation well.

i want to thank chairman smith for his leadership. we have a bipartisan bill in front of us. it is a result of mac thornberry and adam smith. their work to make sure we do put america first. contrary to the prior speaker, before we began to debate this bill we heard accusations this did not put america first. this puts america first. what's essential about this is our adversaries are gaining on our capabilities. they are investing in modernization, they are investing in capabilities that will threaten our ability to ensure our safety and liberty. this bill is about america first. aid like to highlight a few key issues in this bill. first the conference report fully authorizes the amendment, administration's budget request for the national nuclear security administration. these funds are critical to ensuring our nuclear weapons enterprise remains safe, secure, and effective. we put off needed investment for too long. there is no longer any margin of

error or delay. now the n.s.a. must transform from a culture of sustainment and maintenance to a culture of development and manufacturing to meet the nuclear safety environment of the future. second, i'm pleased that the conference report removes the provision that would have prohibited the n.s.a. from conducting necessary testing and exspert experimentation. it fund the basic strategy deterrent, replacement which provided the nation with a nuclear security umbrella for half a century. it will be one of the most complex projects the federal government has undertaken. it continues the progress of space force anti-bill makes serious investments in missile defense by defunding the missile defense agency's highest unfunded priorities. authorizes funds for nine sm-3 block missiles. it includes a provision direct from the d.o.d. to collaborate with research centers so we can bring forward information on our adversaries w that i encourage everyone to vote for this bill.

it is important for the future. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from washington investigated. mr. smith: thank you, mr. chairman. i yield two minutes to the gentleman from rhode island, the chairman. intelligence and emerging threats and capabilities subcommittee, mr. langevin. thank him for his leadership. mr. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from rhode island is recognized for two minutes. mr. langevin: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding. i rise today in support of the conference report to accompany r. 6395, the william m. "mac mgsmgs thornberry national defense authorization act for fiscal year 2021. i served with ranking member mac thornberry for nearly 20 years. i thank him for his service to the nation and for his bipartisan leadership. mac, it's been an honor and you will be missed. i congratulate my colleagues, particularly chairman adam smith, for his leadership in crafting the national defense authorization act for the 60th consecutive year. the portions of the ndaa under

my purview provide special operations forns and intelligence enterprises. it supports scientist that is will diversify our work force. it advance several policy priorities and artificial intelligence in cyber space, including 27 recommendations from the sbiber space commission on which i serve. among the most important notably this bill establishes a long overdue provision that i authored. the senate confirmed national cyber director within the executive office of the president. the national cyber director will be the singular point of strategy development and implementation and provide vital coordination to keep us safe in cyber space. this bill also funds two virginia class submarines. the first columbia class submarine. i was proud to work with chairman courtney to fight cuts in the president's budget that would have eliminated the virginia class submarine and i'm equally proud to represent the workers in rhode island who make

such important and unique contributions to building the most sophisticated weapons system ever built and which are vital to our national security. in all of my efforts on the ndaa, i have been privileged to serve with my ranking member, congresswoman elise stefanik by my side. i thank her for her contributions and commitment to bipartisanship. i also want to thank my colleagues and the staff for the -- on the intelligence emerging threats and capability subcommittee and my personal staff for their tireless efforts to get the ndaa across the finish line. finally, this bill provides a 3% raise, pay raise for our men and women in uniform, although no price can ever be put on their invaluable service. everyday service members put their lives on the line to protect our way of life and keep us safe at home. we owe them an enormous debt of gratitude we can never repay. i urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan commitment to national security and i yield back the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from rhode island yields back. the gentleman from washington reserves. the gentleman from texas, mr. thornberry is recognized. mr. thornberry: i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from colorado, mr. lamborn. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado is recognized for two minutes. mr. lamborn: i thank the gentleman for yielding. i'd like to say our country and military are a better place because of your hard work and involvement and dedication, mr. ranking member. mr. speaker, i rise today in strong support of the conference report to accompany h.r. 6395, the william m. "mac" thornberry national authorization act for 2021. this continues the armed service committee's commendable bipartisan tradition. i'm particularly happy with the following aspects of the conference report that affect readiness. it authorized over $250 billion for operations and maintenance, including facilities sustainment and $8 billion in new military construction. it reforms logistics and

sustainment to bert align the department's support to the national defense strategy while ensure that sustainment planning is emphasized earlier in the major weapons systems acquisition. it extends critical land withdrawals for the navy and the air force to perform training activities at the training complex in the nevada test and training range. these are vital to the readiness of our aviation forces. it provides the air force with much needed flexibility to synchronize military construction and weapon system fielding for the ground-based strategic deterrent system. it continues to reform military family housing with better remediation of severe environmental hazards. these are just some of the important improvements in readiness that the ndaa accomplishes. i want to thank chairman smith and ranking member thornberry for their leadership to complete the ndaa along with readiness subcommittee chairman john garamendi. passing this bill signals the clear support of congress to our military members and their

families. if not enacted, these critical readiness authorities and vital matters like military pay raises will not happen. i urge my colleagues to support the conference report and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado yields back. the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. smith: thank you, mr. i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from connecticut, mr. courtney. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from account kled is recognized for two minutes. mr. courtney: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in support of the 2021 mac thornberry defense authorization act. i want begin by congratulating chairman smith and mr. thornberry for their persistent team work for bringing this bill to fruition. it's the way congress is supposed to work. the sea power and projection forces subcommittee made a significant mark in this year's bill. last february the president's budget out of nowhere cut the navy shipbuilding budget by 17%, including the removal of an entire virginia class attack submarine with no rationale or

30-year shipbuilding plan as required by law. our subcommittee led the way in fully restoring that submarine having listened to the combatant commanders who are articulated the need for that repeatedly and adding a fast transport ship bringing the total new ships in this bill to nine. two more than requested in the trump budget. we also focused attention on our domestic sealift fleet. the final bill authorizes half a billion dollars for the maritime security program to mitigate the impacts of covid-19 on our domestic sealift fleet and creates a new tanker security fleet aimed at addressing alarming gaps. the bill enhases crucial airlift programs by funged our next generation refueler, the kc-46-a and rejecting harmful cuts in our refueling fleet. the final agreement also includes a provision that sets a firm floor in support of more than a dozen state goff governors request to preserve the c serb 130 aircraft for the air national guard. this is truly a bipartisan bill that represents the hard work and input of members on both

sides of the aisle. thank you to my friend the ranking member, rob wittman, for his amazing friendship and work and our colleagues on the subcommittee for their hard work in crafting this bill. i strongly urge a yes vote today. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from connecticut yields back. the gentleman from washington reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. thornberry: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from nebraska, mr. bacon. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from nebraska is recognized for two minutes. mr. bacon: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in support of the conference report to akpt william "mac" thornberry national defense authorization act. for the past 59 years congress has passed the ndaa on a bipartisan basis, one simple reason, politics must never, ever stand between the american people and the security of our country. this record of bipartisanship unity is unrivaled in our history and a testament to what we can do when we come together to ensure the needs of our nation are met. this bill wisely balances the

differences between each chamber that puts america's security first. let me say at the outset that i am in agreement with the president's concerns about section 230 and the need to deny broad immunity to tech companies that abuse legal protections to sensor voices that do not share their particular political viewpoints. however as important as this issue is, it falls outside the jurisdiction of this bill and deserves its own debate in a separate vote so every member of congress is on record where they stand. for members considering to vote no because of this issue, ask yourself, do you think you'll get a better bill in two months? the answer is no. i wish to commend the outstanding leadership of chairman smith and my friend mac thornberry for navigating this bill through conference. under their leadership this legislation will continue the readiness recover we began four years ago. it will fully fund modernization of our strategic nuclear deterrence. insurance america military advancements and investments in land, sea, space, and signer space. it directs the secretary of

defense to establish emergency surge partnerships for federal, state, and local universities and private health care providers for prepare for future pects. and it keeps the faith of their service members and military families. this bill also provides long overdue support and relief to veterans suffering from toxic exposure. as an airman who deployed four times i served with many exposed to burn pits and suffer from tumors in their lungs. this grants presumptive benefits for veterans suffering from these illnesses requires the v.a. to fast track the disability statuses. this conference report provides our service members the tools they need to defend america. on the 60th consecutive ndaa i'm proud to help craft this bill. i thank the statesmanship of mac thornberry whose name it bears. i urge my colleagues to vote yes and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. smith: mr. speaker, i am pleased to yield one minute to

the gentlewoman from california, the speaker of the house, ms. pelosi. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. the speaker: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding. and i thank him and mr. thornberry for their leadership in bringing this legislation to the floor in a strong bipartisan way. i am proud to support the 2021 national defense authorization act that honors our values, strengthens our security and advances our leadership in the world. i again salute chairman smith and ranking member thornberry and congratulate him for his service in the congress. i know this legislation is named for you. so, that's pretty exciting for all of us. i don't know if it is for you, but it's exciting for the rest of us. and i thank the members of the committee for their patriotic persistence, leadership on this legislation, reflects the brilliance and collaboration we can have, nearly half the members contributed to parts of

this bill. while we would have liked to have seen the house version of this legislation, we can all take pride that the ndaa again will strengthen our national security for years to come. i am particularly pleased with some of the issues in the bill that are supportive of our troops. the ndaa -- this ndaa, mr. speaker, incorporates key democratic priorities, including supporting our troops and financial security, authorizing a long overdupay raise and hazard duty pay, extending paid parental leave to civilian employees who had not been included, and provided long overdue benefits to vietnam-era veterans exposed to agent orange. this issue has been an issue for a long time in our country and also in this congress and it needed some expansion and i'm

glad this legislation, the xposure extends to hyperthyroidism, parkinson's under the -- if you're there and you have this, it's connecting. i am personally interested in this because many years ago, before i was in congress, in our community in california, we had a big -- in l.a., actually, a vietnamer strike by the vets over agent orange. this was like 35 years ago, before -- long before congress acted on this. nd they were on a hunger strike. i went to be sympathetic and show support, i was chair of the california democratic party at the time, and dick gregory came and dick gregory had been on many hunger strikes for one thing or another, civil rights, this and that.

and he taught them, if you're on a hunger strike, you must shower, you must hydrate, hydrate, hydrate, but telling them how not to make themselves sick because they were on a hunger strike, but to control that damage. i was particularly pleased to be there with dick gregory because my brother, and he served in the army in texas together -- and he served in the army in texas together. and in those days, in the 1950's, a long time ago, my brother was dick gregory's friend at a time when there wasn't so much, shall we say, integration among the troops so we had that personal connection and then once again, with our vietnam vet-era vets, when it came to agent orange. so i commend you all personally, patriotically and in every way for taking care of our vets there. and then the families.

defending the health and well-being of that of their families, improving housing and success sess to child care, improving -- access to child care, improving pandemic response, protecting military communities from dangerous pfas chemicals and addressing sexual assault in the military. thank you for that. jackie speier has been such a champion on that issue. combating our adversaries and investing in our allies, with important new tools to deter china and russia, fight transnational threats, and further strengthening our partnership with israel. bringing our defense further into the 21st century with reforms to make the pentagon more efficient and innovative, important bipartisan provisions on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and key investments in military construction and base realignment. this ndaa is momentous in this respect, as congress comes together in a bipartisan, bicameral basis, to begin the process of changing the names of

military bases and infrastructure names after individuals who served in the confederacy. mr. speaker, it's important to know, this is this isn't names of things that, oh, my gosh, later we found out that so and so did this and that. -- that that was so wrong. this was a decision made to name these bases after people, white supremacists and those who were part of the confederacy. the men for whom these bases were named are not heroes. they are named for traitors who took up arms against america and killed american soldiers in defense of slavery. as i said before, there's no room for celebrating the violent bigotry of men of the confederacy in anyplace of honor across our country, whether in the hallowed halls of the united states capital -- capitol or on our military bases. changing the hateful names of these bases is supported by an overwhelming majority of the american people, by our active duty service men, and women, and

by top military leaders. and now the president has threatened to veto this legislation, i hope not. i hope not. this bipartisan policy bill has been signed into law for 59 consecutive years. let us urge the president to show respect for the work of the bicameral, bipartisan congress and for the sacrifice of our military. i urge a strong bipartisan vote for this legislation, which upholds our values, honors our troops, and keeps the american people safe. and i hope that it will be swiftly signed into law. and just want to make the further point that the strength of our nation, of course, depends on our strength that we're talking about here. but it also depends on the health and well-being of the american people. so as we have our budget debate and the rest, let us recognize that the health and well-being of the american people, whether it's the education of our

children, the security of our economy, and the rest, and so many other aspects of our budgeting here, that this is one element of the strength of our country. with that, i urge a yes vote, congratulate mr. thornberry for his namesake bill, acknowledge the great leadership of our chair, adam smith, and i also want to acknowledge anthony brown who did such a tremendous piece of work on the base renamings and with that, i yield back the balance of my time. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california yields back. the gentleman from washington reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. thornberry: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from missouri, mrs. hartzler. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. mrs. hartzler: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in support of the conference report to accompany h.r. 6395, the william m. "mac" thornberry national defense authorization act for fiscal year 2021. i am grateful that this bill

bears the name of a public servant who has fought tirelessly throughout his 26 years in congress for our men and women in uniform and whose steadfast and wise leadership has made such a difference. this legislation is a fitting tribute to his enduring legacy. as ranking member of the tactical land and air force subcommittee, i'm pleased this conference agreement builds on the could pro-gress we've made in rebuilding military readiness after years of deferred -- through targeted oversight this agreement will set the right conditions to ensure needed capabilities required for the national defense strategy, and credible deterrents are delivered in a timely manner to maintain our competitive edge against russia and china. a few examples of these critical capabilities include funding for 12 f-15 e.x. aircraft, an additional $1.2 billion for f-35 joint strike fighters for a total of 93 f-35 aircraft, funding for 24 f-18

superhornets, to include an additional $28 million for advanced procurement, strong support for army's identified big six modernization priorities such as future vertical lift and long range precision fires, an additional $104 million for army ammunition plant modernization, and an additional $150 million for national guard and reserve component equipment modernization. in closing, i want to, again, thank ranking member thornberry for his leadership, thank chairman adam smith for his steadfast and fair handling of the committee in this vital bill, and thank our subcommittee chairman, donald norcross, for his spirit of bipartisanship. in addition, this conference report also wouldn't be possible without the hard work and dedication of the entire subcommittee staff. i thank them all. the ndaa has always been a product of bipartisan con enus is whose purpose has always -- consensus whose purpose has always been to support our troops and protect american national security.

i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this bill and vote yes on h.r. 3695, for the 60th year in a row. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. smith: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the gentlewoman from california, the chair of the subcommittee on military personnel, ms. speier. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california is recognized for two minutes. speier speier i thank the gentleman -- ms. speier: i thank the gentleman for the time and for his outstanding leadership, patience and perseverance, and also thank ranking member thornberry for his many years of distinguished service to our nation, both in the military and in congress. i thank the ranking member of the committee, mr. kelly, and also the committee staff, craig, david, hanna and my personal staff, josh, brian and luke. before i speak about the conference agreement, i feel like i must speak about the fort hood independent review which was ordered after specialist

vanessa guillen's murder. this is the report. it's being released in a matter of three minutes by the secretary of the army. i won't go into details, but i will say that it's a damming -- damning expose of a system at fort hood that does a shameful disservice to the sacrifices of our service members and their families. the report makes clear what i've been saying since before i was on the armed services committee, that the army's sexual assault and harassment response has failed. that service members are afraid to report, believe they will not be taken seriously and will be retaliated against. and the major systemic changes are needed, including greater independence from the chain of command for handling sexual assault and harassment. any parent reading this report would have to ask themselves, is my son or daughter safe in the military? this bill is not perfect. important provisions on sexual assault and domestic violence

were left out. but this conference agreement would make progress, including a new confidential reporting option for sexual harassment and a provision to ensure that service members who report sexual assault are not disciplined for related minor infractions. it also includes a pay raise for service members, long overdue provisions to promote racial and gender equity within the armed services, including goals for promotion of persons of color and women, as well as the creation of a new deputy inspector general for diversity and inclusion. that will investigate white supremacist activities by service members. additionally, the bill expands support for child care and provides for exceptional family members' services. therefore, i will be voting for the bill and hope my colleagues will join me in this. i urge my colleagues to recognize that this is just the beginning. we have more to do, more lives are lost and must be accounted for. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from washington

reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. thornberry: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the distinguished gentlelady from new york, ms. stefanik. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from new york is recognized for two minutes. ms. stefanik: thank you, mr. speaker -- thank you, mr. thornberry. i rise in strong support of this bipartisan bill. as the ranking member of the subcommittee on intelligence and emerging threats and capabilities, i'm proud of our oversight and legislative activities this year, which have included recharging our science and technology enterprise, strengthening our nation's cybersecurity, expanding the resources and authorities for irregular warfare activities across the globe, and bolstering our biological threat and pandemic preparedness efforts. two years ago i introduced legislation in the ndaa that created the national security commission on artificial intelligence, with the purpose of accelerating and advancing the development of a.i. across the federal government. i applaud the commission for their work on this important issue and i'm pleased that this conference report includes 17 of those recommendations, including

elevating the role of the joint a.i. center, modernizing how the d.o.d. attracts and retains a.i. talent, and ensuring our a.i. research ecosystem maintains its competitive advantage over china. second, this bill extends and expands the opportunities for our special operations forces to partner with foreign forces, build critical relationships, and more effectively counter the malign influences of russia and china. this bill also ensures that all of our special operations forces, active duty reserve, national guard and their families are provided the care and support that they deserve. third, this bill takes concrete steps to protect critical defense technologies, strengthen cybersecurity cooperation with the defense industrial base, and rebuild our domestic manufacturing capabilities for sensitive microelectronic and semiconductor components. this bill brings transparency to federally funded research while at the same time restricting foreign influence on our university campuses. .

i am proud to deliver results for the army's most deployed questionings since -- division 9/11. it addresses our missile defense as fort drum is the preferred site.e defense i'm proud to include provisions that require plans for renovating child development review of i.t. infrastructure enhancements at army mission training complexes. provisions are critical to enhance readiness and ensure the 0th mountain division can conduct safe and secure operations. want to recognize my partner, my colleague, congressman jim langevin of rhode island. thank ranking member thornberry for his extraordinary leadership and guidan his many years of exemplary service. he's a giant in the people's ouse and he will be sorely missed. i urge my colleagues to support the bill and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the gentleman from texas reserved. the gentleman from washington is

recognized. i am pleased to yield to the chairman of the subcommittee on strategic sorry, mr. cooper. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. cooper: i'm pleased to the ndaa act. it's no small feat, particularly during a global pandemic. to thank in particular our outstanding chairman smith and ranking member thornberry leadership, as well as ranking member mike turner for his partnership in the strategic of es subcommittee, and all the conferees getting to this point. in particular, i'd like to thank member thornberry for his extraordinary leadership in the last years and i'd like to congratulate house gers as the next ranking member. the strategic forces provisions n the bill would not have been

placed without the outstanding grant,ork of lee, maria, as the lead staffers, and these provisions support our nuclear orces and nuclear nonproliferation. they also enhance oversight of and arhead acquisition plutonium pit production rograms which continue to be major undertakings. he conference report supports -- the conference report supports regional missile defense efforts, restores radars, o critical discrimination capabilities, and provides needed over-september in order to have fly before you buy principles in this $10 billion program. the report acknowledges the ncreased focus on development and delivery of conventional hypersonic weapons while also nitiating efforts to address broad policy concerns regarding the risk of miscalculation as hese new strategic level weapons are fielded. with regard to the rapidly

domain, the space conference report supports innovative commercial competition, and the emergence of small launch roviders to support national security as well as the codification of the space development agency's commission. urge a strong vote in favor of this conference report. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the yields n from tennessee back. the gentleman from washington reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. thornberry: mr. speaker, i'm yield two minutes to the distinguished gentleman from general kelly. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from mississippi is recognized for two minutes. mr. elly: thank you, speaker. as ranking member of the military personnel subcommittee, in and before you today proud support of the national act for uthorization fiscal year 2021. it reflects bipartisan ompromise that's been a hallmark of this committee for 59 consecutive years. the national defense been abouton act has ensuring the national defense of the united states, which would

without ible appropriate focus on the men and omen who tirelessly serve this country. and appropriate focus on their families who serve this great loved by supporting their ones time and again. through the deployments, the training periods, and all the of day-to-day living, we owe them a great debt of gratitude. also preserves a number and benefits are to retirees. we addressed a number of significant and overdue policy combrektly will improve the -- directly improve the -- ity of life of for the service members and their families. it provides a 3% increase in members. for service it standardizes the payment of increases uty and $250 to $275 a month for members of the uniformed service. reinforces the committee's long standing ommitment to the families to redefine military family readiness and personnel esiliency and provides for

significant reforms in the exceptional family members program. of course, the ndaa also covid-19. this is an outstanding dedicated to our service members, military families, and retirees and gives the care and support they need, deserve, and have earned. thank my staff, sergeant major jeremy barton, my hall, my w rodney m.l.a., and our staff glendale and paul. to thank chairwoman speier for working together with mark.do a great personnel i want to thank mac thornberry, a mentor, leader, and friend. yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. smith: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from new jersey, the chair of the on tactical air tactical land, air, mr. norcross. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized.

to thank ss: i want the gentleman for bringing this conference report to the floor 60th year and i want to thank mac thornberry, whose this conference report is named his leadership and certainly to mike rogers. they are the type of members should look towards in terms of being bipartisan and working towards a goal. speaker, this conference eport continues the tactical air, land subcommittee long stra digs of bipartisanship to make armed forces the best in the world. i commend the hard work of our our rs, my colleagues, staff, and certainly in this unusual and demanding ircumstances brought on by the coronavirus. also want to thank ranking member, mrs. hartzler, for her leadership and commitment to working towards the goal of safe.g america our cooperation has kept us focused on what's truly important. we've delivered the defense bill that meets modernization and readiness needs of our nation's

and land forces. his bill carefully manages our military resources while increasing the department of the oversight, the oversight, the oversight to our job. that we do particularly in the f-35, our advanced weapons system, and also the most expensive in u.s. history. also looking at man and unmanned intelligence, reconnaissancend aircraft and continue the army's new modernization strategy, with to army aviation, chinook the ch-47 helicopter. also want to take a moment for our national defense and the america s of keeping safe and new jersey safe while ensuring the kc-10 refuelers are retired prematurely and sure the kc-46's are being delivered on time. i'm grateful this bill includes

pay raise but also taking care of military families but providing - by affordable childcare on bases. your children are safe is incredibly important. i'm proud of the work this to serve has done america's national security interests. it deserves our support. yield back , and i the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey yields back. the gentleman from washington reserves. texas is man from recognized. mr. thornberry: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield two minutes to fromistinguished gentleman virginia, mr. wittman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia is recognized for two minutes. wittman: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank mr. thornberry for yielding. gentlemen, we are in a period of great power competition. words, this just is our new reality. chinese, ng russian, iranian, and north korean aggression on a global scale. why i'm confounded by who agree s

decreasing spending is in our interest. anything more is capitulating ur global standing to an ever-expanding china and russia hegemony. additionally, there are some who we should not pass this defense bill in this congress. i want to remind my friends that we are already 68 days late in delivering this defense bill to nation. harmed by our delay is almost $8 military troop construction. harmed by inaction is a our air shuttering of force's and navy's premiere at nellis and fallon. most importantly, harmed by our continuing neglect are the service members who rely on us for reasonable pay our enefits to support national security. we must do better. power subcommittee, our conference is all about great power competition. an additional

virginia class submarine and ph craft to hunting partially offset the great power advances. e pay down future readiness with our continued support of he next generation bomber and columbia ballistic missiles logistics and we have that are essential to power projection. this is a strong mark to pay generation's contribution to our nation's future. while i want to acknowledge courtney's th and leadership in their efforts as chairmen of the full committee of sea power, i want to particularly thank mac of nberry for his 26 years congressional service. mac, thanks so much for your leadership, for your continued and dedication to our and n and to those brave men -- brave men and women who serve our nation. thank, too, mike rogers as the future republican leadership of the house armed

committee. mike, congratulations. we look forward to the legacy of the leadership of mac thornberry to you. we have all seen the great service and great stewardship by both chairman thornberry and others. my friends, at this moment, this our time. anything less than action on this bill now is turning our backs and ignoring the service their families who continue to serve the nation. i thank the gentleman for me, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from texas reserves. is gentleman from washington recognized. mr. smith: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm pleased to yield two minutes from gentlewoman california, mrs. davis. i want to recognize, also, she's after 22 years of service on the committee. it's been great working with you. appreciate your leadership. with that i yield to mrs. davis. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california is recognized for two minutes. mrs. davis: thank you, mr. speaker. r. speaker, this will be my 20th and final ndaa. as i prepare to seek other my lenges, i want to remind

colleagues of the incredible work that can get done with this legislation. especially when patience is required. since joining the armed services i've seen our focus change. at the height of the wars in avrgs and iraq -- afghanistan focused on the critical needs of our troops fighting every day. has shifted more towards innovation and future troops. our but we can't forget that this bill is not just about spending things. it is about our service members and their families. the importance of the sacrifices that they make. even convey the magnitude of their service. can enhance performance by caring for every member of the military that we , something hear every day from military leaders that, quite honestly, we didn't hear 20 years ago. to be re is more work

done. we must ensure no military no ly goes hungry and military spouse is forced to leave the workforce because of a or a lack of childcare. enhance ary can performance by fostering an environment where the opportunities for advancement all who are willing to work hard. the i began serving on house, the idea of women in roles or lgbtq americans serving openly was only a distant dream. the we understand importance of diversity in our ranks. hat strategic focus brings the best and the brightest americans forward to serve. discrimination persists, it must end. much on the ed so prevention of sexual assault and harassment. i recently came across a picture taken in a breakfast on this issue with general james amos in

2010. the commandant of the marine corps. he had asked one of his id-level officers if she would report an assault if it occurred. he responded, unequivocally, no. much to his surprise. policy made sincere changes to address this horrible roblem, but the fight continues. this bipartisan legislation is the culmination of many of the many members. there is much good in it and much that is needed to support our service members and their families. to thank very quickly our our anding chair smith and dedicated ranking member hornberry and the amazing professional staff who made this all possible. i will miss you all, and i know critical work in service to our nation continues. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. thornberry: mr. speaker, i'm

pleased to yield two minutes to the distinguished gentleman from south carolina, mr. wilson. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from south carolina is recognized. mr. wilson: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, congratulations to chairman adam smith and ranking member mac thornberry for their dedicated work on developing this bipartisan bill, appropriately named in honor of chairman mac thornberry, an american patriot. as a member of the conference committee, i appreciated the opportunity to work on another historically important ndaa, enactment of this bill will be the 60th consecutive fiscal year that the ndaa has passed, exhibiting the true bipartisan nature of the process. i am thankful for the provision of a 3% military pay increase, which represents the first time in a decade that troops have connectively received salary boosts of at least 3%. the most recent report also has the guard and reserve hazardous duty pay equity act, a bipartisan bill introduced with representative andy kim. i was grateful to lead a letter

with representative kim urging its inclusion. i'm also especially grateful to my bill, the body armor for females modernization act, was included to ensure female service members have the right equipment from day one. this legislation contains the small manufacturers cybersecurity enhancement act, a bill i introduced with representative jimmy panetta, which will allow the department to partner with the manufacturing extension partnership centers to provide assistance to small manufacturers. there is full funding for the advanced manufacturing collaborative. it also incorporates a bipartisan bill i introduced with representative perlmutter to ensure continued funding for the energy employees occupational illness program. i appreciate the success of staff member drew kennedy and military fellow major injuryny tilman. i support this conference report, remembering 9/11, the

murderous attacks by defeating the terrorists overseas. i urge all members to vote in favor. yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from south carolina yields back. the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. smith: thank you. i am very pleased to recognize the gentleman from maryland, the vice chair of the committee, mr. brown, for two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the hobrable gentleman from maryland, mr. brown, is recognized for two minutes. nancy brown thank you, mr. speaker. i want to first thank chairman smith for his exemplary leadership, representative thornberry for his career service to our men and women in uniform, and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their hard work in this year's national defense authorization act. this bill strengthens our military, makes our country safer and provides for our service members and their families. national security isn't simply defined by the planes and ships we buy, but in the values we promote within the military and for our nation. this legislation is a significant step forward for diversity, inclusion and justice in our all were armed forces.

core american values that our military must promote. today's military is the most diverse in our history with people of color making up more than 40% of active duty service members. and, as our country reckons with systemic racism, so too does our military. by affirming our founding values, this ndaa enhances military readiness and taps into the diverse talents and skills of our country. we elevate the chief diversity officer to report directly to the secretary of defense and service secretaries. we provide for better accountability, transparency and reporting on our diversity efforts. we ensure equity and promotion boards by removing pictures and other identifying information that could bias his processes. officers will instead be judged solely on what matters, their performance. we foster new leaders in our military, reflect the diversity of our country. and support their career development from junior rotc to academies and historically black colleges and universities. -- investigate

racial disparities. after years of delay, we rename bases and property honoring the confederacy. with support from congress, barrier breaking leaders in our military, and the american people, we will lead with our values. mr. speaker, for a more equitable country and military, i urge all of my colleagues to support this bill and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland yields back. the gentleman from washington is recognized. the gentleman from texas -- the gentleman from washington reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. thornberry: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, at this point i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the next republican leader of the house armed services committee, the gentleman from alabama, mr. rogers. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from alabama is recognized for two minutes. mr. rogers: thank you, mr. speaker. i would like to thank ranking member thornberry and chairman smith for their leadership in this essential process, to ensure america's security. this bill takes important steps forward to confront china by

establishing the indo pacific deterrence initiative. it is a vital that we support and strengthen our allies and partners in the region, in order to deter the growing threat from china. this ndaa also funds critical investments here at home that will enable us to confront this sophisticated threats we face from china and russia. the ndaa also includes provisions implementing a number of cybersolarium recommendations. this will continue to modernize our military and cybersecurity efforts. i think we've only begun our work in this area. in addition to these cutting-edge needs, this conference report also re-authorizes the pay to troops deployed in combat zones. most importantly this bill adheres to the agreement and fully funds the president's budget request. now more than ever we must reject calls for blanket defense cuts from partisans who are using the current crisis as an opportunity to push their agenda. finally, i want to thank my friend and colleague, mac

thornberry, for his years of service and dedication to the armed services committee. no one cares more about our men and women in uniform and has been a better leader for our conference. we're going to miss your passion and dedication to these issues and we wish you and sally nothing but the best as you go forward. thank you, mr. chairman -- mr. speaker, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from alabama yields back. the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. smith: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm pleased to yield one minute to the gentlewoman from virginia, a member of the committee, mrs. luria. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from virginia is recognized for one minute. mrs. luria: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in strong support of the fiscal year 2021 national defense authorization act. this ndaa will provide the tools and resources essential to maintaining our national security. i'm pleased that the conference report includes a 3% pay raise for our troops and invests robustly in initiatives to compete with china, russia and others who threaten our security around the world.

the conference report includes vital investments in our fleet, our readiness and continued construction of the virginia class submarine and the modernization of our nuclear deterrent through the columbia class submarine. i look forward to supporting the final passage of this bipartisan legislation and urge my colleagues to do the same. thank you, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from washington reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. thornberry: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the distinguished chair of the republican conference, the gentlelady from wyoming, ms. cheney. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from wyoming is recognized for two minutes. ms. cheney: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise in support of this ndaa conference report, named after a true american patriot, our armed services committee ranking member, mac thornberry, whom we will very much miss and who has dedicated his career to serving this nation. i also want to thank the chairman of our committee, mr. smith, for his work on this

bipartisan product. congress has no greater responsibility, mr. speaker, than providing for the defense of our nation. at a time when the united states faces the most complex array of threats in our history, it is incumbent upon us to ensure that our service members have the tools they need to deter and defeat our adversaries. the 2021 defense bill before us today makes critical progress toward modernizing our military, supporting our military families, protecting supply chains and deterring russia and china. at this crucial moment, when we have troops deployed overseas, including those from wyoming's 153rd, 187th and 243rd air national guard units, it is imperative that they have the full support of the united states congress behind them as they execute their missions. failure to pass this act would force hundreds of thousands of our men and women in uniform and their families to endure cuts to their pay right before the holidays. over 250,000 military families

would lose their hazardous duty pay. given the sacrifices they make for all of us, our troops should never have their livelihoods threatened by political battles in washington, d.c. in addition to all that this ndaa does to support our troops, it also builds on the trump administration's successful efforts to counter the chinese communist party. including through provisions i authored that require publication of the names of chinese communist military companies operating in the united states. it also includes my bipartisan provision seeking to reduce d.o.d.'s dependence on china for critical rare earth minerals. states like wyoming are blessed with these resources and we must rebuild our nation's capacity to mine and process rare earths here at home. this legislation funds the modernization of our nuclear tried a and contains trurebl -- triad and contains critical things. american security requires we maintain a military that's

second to none, that we armour troops with the world's best equipment -- armour trooms with the -- arm our troops with the world's best equipment. we owe them the tools to do their job. i am proud to support this year's ndaa and i urge all my colleagues to vote for it. thank you. i yield back, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. smith: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm pleased to yield one minute to the gentlewoman from california, the distinguished chair of the financial services committee, ms. waters, and i really want to thank her for her leadership, the financial services committee provided a key number of pieces of legislation for this bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. waters: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i rise in support of the william "mac" thornberry national defense authorization act for fiscal year 2021 on which i served as a conferee. for several months i have worked with my house and senate

counterparts to include 10 measures authored by democratic measures of the financial services committee within the ndaa. these bills would have to -- help to protect u.s. financial systems, provide more remedies to investors who were deceived by corporate wrongdoers, expand access to housing assistance for our veterans, and direct the incoming biden administration to use its full authority to help relieve the student debt crisis. for years the issue of shell companies have been ignored by this congress. this is why one of the first actions i took as chair of the committee was to move legislation to prevent bad actors from using shell companies to hide their activities. a provision i've been fighting for for over a decade and i'm very pleased it is included in the conference agreement. i would also like to thank mrs. maloney of new york for her tireless work on this provision, and the members and the many outside stakeholders for their work on all the measures included in the legislation.

i'm also pleased to see the conference report reflected my work and progress ensuring that technologies by the department of defense are ethically and responsibly screened for potential bias. with that, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from washington reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. thornberry: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the distinguished member of the committee from indiana, mr. banks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from indiana is recognized for two minutes. mr. banks: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the ranking member for yielding time to me today. and for his many years of service. america and the world are safer today because of mac thornberry's service in the united states house of representatives. i want to thank mr. smith, the chairman of the committee, as well, for ensuring that this year's ndaa is bipartisan once again. mr. speaker, i want to rise most of all in support of the aptly named mac thornberry national defense authorization act.

while the bill doesn't include everything i want it to, and there are certainly items that i wish would be removed, overall it ensures that our nation is protected and it supporting our men and women in uniform. so many in the trump administration have warned us for years that china is our nation's long-term strategic competitor and countering china is a key focus of the fiscal year 2021 ndaa. having just been a part of the future defense task force and the china task force, i'm more motivated than ever before to stop the chinese communist party's egregious affronts on the u.s. government, its citizens and our military. i appreciate the inclusion of many important recommendations from both of those task force reports in this year's ndaa. this ndaa establishes the pacific deterrence initiative, to strengthen u.s. posturing capabilities in the indo pacific region. and it works better with allies to deter against chinese

maligned behavior. it also protects against chinese industrial espionage, by requiring a presidential assessment on how to deter it, and large scale cybertheft of intellectual property and personal information. the ndaa also includes a number of protections for federal investments in science and technology by including new mandates on university research and limiting funding for universities with confucious institutes, for example. there are -- these are just some of the very important provisions in this year's bill. to not just acknowledge the china threat, mr. speaker, but to address it head-on and that's why i urge all of my colleagues to vote in favor of this critical legislation and i yield back the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. he gentleman from texas is recognized. reserves. the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. smith: thank you, mr. speaker.

i'm pleased to yield one minute o the distinguished majority leader of the house, mr. hoyer. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. hoyer: thank you very much, mr. speaker. thank both mr. smith, the chairman of the committee, and mr. thornberry, who had an to work with through the years. that f them are leaders -- on cused on the america's well-being, the who being of our troops serve in uniform at the point of support those o who are at the point of the spear. so i believe we have and our ountry has been advantaged by the leadership of both. and by the fact that they have been able to work together to accomplish objectives on behalf of the country, not on behalf of party. i thank both mr. smith, the chairman, and mr. ranking member, who was the chairman. so they have both held the

leadingble positions of this committee and its work. strong support of this year's authorization bill. outset, as thehe majority leader, i schedule floor.tion for the mr. smith and i had long conversations. r. thornberry and i had conversations in the past. this bill should not be on the in december. this bill has historically in may through the committee and have been to the for the ore we break august break, and i will tell mr. had discussions with smith and will tell successors itthe defense committee that will be my intention to urge the committee to mark up its bill it ready to report to may.loor by now, there have always been -- not always been -- but there

things from time to time that made that impossible. and that was certainly the case government was shut down. and the pandemic has obviously well. up our work as but i am hopeful, mr. speaker, hat i will be able to bring this bill at the instance of the chairman and the ranking member the floor either in late may or very early june, the first in june before, frankly, we get to the appropriations process. to 's how the process ought work. as opposed to the other way around. mr. speaker, this is a major of legislation. one of the most important we pass each year. nd one, frankly, that we need to pass each year. i just said we need to do it in timely fashion, but it's never too late to do the right thing. and what we're doing today is passing a bill which provides for the security of our country. i want to thank both of those leaders who i referenced.

this conference report will ensure that our men and women in uniform can continue to protect nation and meet global challenges. now, i hope that president trump does sign this bill. he ought to sign this bill. his is about our national security. it's not about partisanship. provision e with one or another in such a large and important bill is no reason to of it.he whole that's particularly true when this bill will take a major step forward to right a historic wrong. but let me say with respect to a the president does not veto this. i hope that we have, as previous overwhelming said, bipartisan support on both sides of the aisle. course, there are specifics in a bill this large where one that say i don't like provision. well, i don't think there is a bill that can't have a of us cant number of one say i wish that provision were different.

have our ht to not doughnut hole. we ought to have our focus on the doughnut. whole of what makes this bill so critically important for our country. in our founding document it says all are created equal, that they re un-dowd by their creator -- -- wed by their creator by certain inalienable rights. it said all men are created equal. argue that all men exclusively per received a -- perceived as being equal. we believe human beings are created equal, whether they're or women, black, white, red.w, whatever their referencdifferen e, it's our declaration that

it's god who created the soul that's colorless, that's that is of no one nation. is the soul that is imbued in our s we say in declaration, by our creator. while these rights may have been i tell people, self-executing. it is our -- it fell to future americans to secure them. less than a century after our it was torn ding apart by a civil war with southern states waging war to protect the evil institution of slavery. ll of us would agree that one human being owning another human eing is untenable, but it is what we fought a war over. the names of those who fought slavery to perpetuate and who rebelled against the united states do not deserve the

being associated with housing.llation's without getting into the argument, that would have been an amendment op adopted by 93% of the senate. not because they voted on the ndividual amendment, but because it was included in the bill, and 93% of the members of the united states senate voted it. 93%. and it simply says what is the to do.hing base on name from a which an african-american african-american soldier, an african-american arine, an african-american coast guardsman, an african-american of whatever service, at whatever time should ot have to serve on a base named for somebody who believed that person ought to be enslaved. i congratulate both the chairman and the ranking member for making sure that language was

kept in. the president has said he doesn't like that language, but said, i'm convinced that any one of us could point to in this bill we don't like, but we need to keep our eye on the ball. security of our country. this defense authorization the rence report requires military to remove the names. i think that's appropriate. for leaving e them that language whole. felt made it clear that i this bill needed to pass, but i leftif that provision were out, it would be inappropriate floor.it on the unfortunately, i also want to mention another -- this conference report will ensure all federal employees can access 12 weeks of paid parental leave. that is now the practice in most not all -- not all, certainly, but many of the largest corporations in our

country. why? because they believe it's good for their employees. they believe it's good for their children. it's good for e america. we have now adopted that. doingse the committee for so. some federal employees were left last year when you did that. you have now included them. fixing that and making sure that it applies to all federal workers. importantr, it's also that we're able to include language in the conference the closed corporate loopholes -- to close corporate referred toich were by ms. waters, the chair of the inancial services committee, eliminating loopholes which allowed dark money to enter the u.s. financial system from and other malign actors. beneficial ownership provision is a major win in the foreign clepto to ts and oligarchs seeking

undermine our security and those who wish to do us harm. congratulations to mr. smith. ranking ations to the member. congratulations to the committee. mr. speaker, we have an to do right byay our service members and by the uphold.es they let us do so. passing this y conference report and doing our part. said, to nt lincoln bind up the nation's wounds. my colleagues, all of my colleagues, not because they will come to the conclusion this bill.erfect there are no perfect bills. essential for l the defense of our values, our our land.d this bill needs to pass overwhelmingly. my colleagues to vote for it and yield back the balance of my time. tempore: the o gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from washington

reserves. he gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. thornberry: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the distinguished ranking member of the foreign affairs committee, the gentleman from texas, mr. mccaul. the speaker pro tempore: the texas, mr. om mccaul, is recognized for two minutes. mr. mccaul: thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to also thank my good from texas for his service to the nation. a special states has partnership with israel. in the past four years, we've strengthened this relationship steps towards peace in the middle east under the bahrain, cords with sudan and the u.a.e. this has made israel and the safer.middle east however, israel still faces threats from malign actors like who seek to sew chaos and spread terror. today, the lier iranian president directly threatened israel by promising syria's aggression in the goaland heights. golan heights. i'm pleased the bill bolsters

cooperation between our and fully funds the security assistance to israel. in the improves the laws books so that we can quickly upply israel with precision-guided missiles to defend themselves against malign actors in the region. bill also enhances cooperation between our two a ions by establishing defense acquisition advisory group. as an ndaa conferee, i'm proud year's bill includes provisions that supports israel partnership.r mr. speaker, before i close, i'd like to take a moment of honor my rivilege to olleague, my friend, my fellow texan, congressman mac thornberry. his leadership on the house services committee has made our country stronger. am proud to have served with him in the congress where we've worked together on key national ecurity issues, including this year's ndaa, which bears his

name. but most importantly, mr. proud to call him my friend. nd he's brought dignity and bipartisanship to this chamber, we are that, sir, forever grateful. and with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the yields n from texas back. the gentleman from texas, mr. thornberry, reserves. from washington, mr. smith, is recognized. mr. smith: i thank you, mr. chairman. pleased to yield one minute to the gentlewoman from new york, mrs. maloney. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from new york is minute.ed for one mrs. maloney: mr. speaker, i ise to speak on an important aspect of this bill. my corporate transparency act is important anti-corruption, anti-money 20 years. bill in when a terrorist cell or organization wants to move or hide money, they usually right here in the united company.th a shell

so the same terrorist groups the united attack states are using our own finance system to those a -- those attacks. appalling and it has to stop. y bill will end the abuse of anonymous shell companies in the u.s. by requiring companies to beneficial ir true owners to the treasury department at the time the is formed. i want to thank my negotiating crapo, , chairman ranking member brown, chairwoman waters, and ranking member congratulate the chairman, chairman smith, and all their hardon work on this bill. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from new york yields back. the gentleman from washington, mr. smith, reserves. the gentleman from texas, mr. thornberry, is recognized. mr. thornberry: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield two minutes to a distinguished member of the

committee, rvices mr. luetkemeyer of missouri. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from missouri is minutes.d for two mr. luetkemeyer: thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to take a moment of personal privilege to express my thanks to leader thornberry who is retiring after his many years our military and through his actions on this committee. he will certainly be missed. i'd like to ask for unanimous consent, mr. speaker, o place two statements in the record. one from myself and one from ranking member mchenry of the financial services committee. withoutker pro tempore: objection, so ordered. mr. luetkemeyer: thank you very much. each year, mr. speaker, congress with one of the most important duties, re-authorization the ndaa to ensure our military has they could possibly need to continue protecting this country. this year i'm proud to have served as a conferee which include the most significant overhaul of our anti-money laundering laws in decades. the bipartisan anti-money laundsering act authorizes new resources for the treasury

department to combat illicit finance and requires treasury to apply more rigorous -- more rigor to its data collection. this will allow suspicious activity reports and currency transaction reports to be as useful as possible for law enforcement. for too long, congress and the private sector have had little to no insight into how the executive branch uses its reports. which has decreased accountability and prevents us from modernizing the reporting regime. that ends with this bill. the conference report also contains illicit cash act, legislation congresswoman maloney and i have been work on for years. this provision will deliver a significant blow to human trafficers and drug cartels by eliminating shell corporations that for decades have been a critical vehicle for laundering money in the united states. in the fight against shell companies, the federal government has department advertised financial institutions, threatening massive penalties unless they play the role of law enforcement. effectively forcing private industry to do the government's

job. this legislation puts an end to that practice by forcing treasury's financial crimes enforcement network to collect beneficial ownership information with minimal effort or inconvenience to businesses. i thank congresswoman maloney for her tireless efforts and collaboration on several provisions that protect small businesses and streamline regulations for financial institutions. i also want to thank ranking member mchenry for fighting for additional protections and relief for small businesses in conference, with these provisions america can better fight illicit and terrorism finance which helps our brave men and women in uniform who risk their lives every day to protect our freedoms and keep us safe. mr. speaker, with that, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. smith: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm now pleased to yield one minute to the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas is recognized for one minute. ms. jackson lee: i thank the gentleman very much for his leadership and i thank my fellow texan, mac thornberry, for his service to the nation. thank him very much as he

continues his journey. let me say how important this legislation is. as it relates to basic pay and incentive pay, hazardous pay for our military families. many of them in my congressional district. the work that has been done on minority, maternity uniform pilot program and also the work on reinforcing nato. the sexual assault prevention and response that is so much important, particularly in our community in texas, for the horrible acts at fort hood against vanessa guillon, her losing her life. this focuses on pernl and the security of our nation. i'm very grateful to congressman brown for his leadership on joining with other members to ensure, with chairman smith, that we remove these confederate names from the names of military bases that represent all people. and i'm very grateful that my language, that indicates that profound and dignified and qualified and heroic

african-american soldiers have the right to have their names listed on these particular bases. i ask america to send in the names of your relatives, call my office, send it to the armed services committee, let us have a base where soldiers go that reflects everyone. i'm thankful that my language was put in to name bases after african-american soldiers and other diverse persons. with that, i ask for support of this bill. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from washington reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. thornberry: mr. speaker, i understand that the chairman has no further speakers. mr. speaker, i would yield myself the balance of the time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas, mr. thornberry, is recognized. mr. thornberry: thank you. mr. speaker, i would begin by expressing my gratitude and admiration for chairman adam smith and our ability, our working together over a number of years, as well as to the

members on both sides of the armed services committee and our colleagues in the senate, chairman enwho have and ranking member reid -- enhoff and ranking member reid. like chairman smith, i also want to pay particular attention and gratitude and honors to our professional staff. they started this conference process in july. and they have been working all these months to make sure that every detail was as right as we could make it. i particularly want to thank dan, who had the responsibility of answering my phone call on nights and weekends and so forth. our staff worked with the professionalism and patriotism that would make all americans proud if they could see it. i also appreciate the generous words of my colleagues and having my name attached to this bill.

this bill is one of which i am very proud. it strengthens our country's security in many ways. but as grateful as i am, i do not lose sight of the fact that this bill is not -- and this bill has never been, in 60 years, about any of us. it's not about us or our political agendas or our political grievances. this bill is about the men and women who risk their lives to protect and defend us and our freedoms and their families. this bill is about american national security. and we've been able to come together on those things for 60 years, whatever other differences we may have had. without this bill, both the troops and america's national security will be hurt. now, members need to understand

that and accept responsibility for the consequences of their vote. that damage that would happen without this bill cannot be papered over with some executive order or any appropriation bill, and it won't or can't be repaired by a new bill in a new congress with a new administration. i know we can always find an excuse to vote against a bill. especially an excuse about what's not in it. so i'll admit right here that this bill does not fix health care. this bill does not fix immigration. it does not raise or lower taxes. and it does nothing regarding the legal liability of social media companies. all of those things need attention. and some kind of action. but our troops should not be punished because this bill does not fix everything that needs to be fixed. or it doesn't have a provision exactly the way we would want

it. the main reason this bill has been signed into law every year for 59 straight years is because of its substance. but i just, like the chairman, i want to add a note about process. this committee started collecting proposals in january in a database that would be ultimately included in this bill. it went through all the subcommittees, the full committee, a conference process, hundreds of amendments have been considered one way or another. every step of the way, members shape it. in fact, we can easily identify at least -- or close to 200 members of the house that have a provision that can be linked to them in one way or another that are in this bill. and i think that's unique, frankly, in congress today. if the six-decade legacy of having this bill signed -- having this bill signed into law ends with us, after 59 years,

then i'm afraid that process of having hundreds of members contribute would end as well. a very strong vote will help prevent that. the stronger the vote, the smoother the process from here on out. a strong vote will show the troops that we support them. a strong vote will show the adversaries that we can stand together to support this nation. and that is what this bill is really all about. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. mr. thornberry, the gentleman from -- mr. smith. mr. smith: thank you. i want to associate myself with mr. thornberry's remarks. that was the perfect statement of why it is so important to vote for this bill and why every member of this body should vote for this bill. it contains incredibly important provisions. and the excuses for not doing those provisions just don't hold up.

as mr. thornberry points out, every year near the end of the process, because we are the only bill that actually makes it through the process, people who have been working on issues for a long time are desperate to get them taken care of. and we respect that and we honor that. and we're the last vehicle to find. and many times we're able to help. but not always. and that is not a reason to not do the bill, because of all the other issues, as mr. thornberry laid out, that we have not addressed. then as people want to try to find reasons to oppose the bill, they start saying things that aren't terribly accurate. i think mr. gaetz wins the award for that one this year in his remark on afghanistan. our bill says that if the president wants to go blow 2,000 -- below 2,000 troops in afghanistan, he said he's going to go to 2,300 so, this doesn't have anything to do with what president trump said he'sing to draw down in afghanistan, if he wants to go below 2,000 or a future president wants to go below 2,000, he has to file a report. ok? doesn't say that he can't do it.

he has to file a report. i actually agree with mr. gaetz on where we need to go in afghanistan. and i can assure you this bill does nothing to prohibit the next president, president biden, from completely drawing down in afghanistan. that's a policy debate he will have. so anyone who comes to the floor and says they're voting against this bill because of that is really not telling the truth. that is not what this bill does. i also want to mention the top line. because that's a favored argument on our side to not vote for the bill. i'll let you in on a little secret. the defense policy bill does not control how much money we spend at the pentagon. i know that sounds a little odd. but it doesn't. the budget process does that. and when we don't have a budget process, because of how much things have broken down, which has happened frequently, the appropriations committee decides how much we spend. what we do is we decide how that gets spent in the oversight of

it. a few years ago mr. courtney pushed us to do two submarines a year. great provision, saved a lot of money. we can control that. but if you think the pentagon should spend more than it's spending or less, your beef is on the promingses side. we could take the -- appropriations side. we could take the tables out in terms of the amount of money we have in this bill, it wouldn't change the amount of money that is spent at the pentagon. so again, if you have a reason to vote against the bill, that's create -- that's great. but the top line in afghanistan, those are not valid reasons. this is an important piece of legislation, an important piece of legislation that has been undulyy complicated by the fact that -- unduly complicated by the fact that of all the people, the president said, you know, i want to fix that. he wanted to fix something about section 230, having to do with social media platforms. and he went looking for the only possible vehicle. well, let me just say to people on that issue, that section is not going to be addressed in this bill. you cannot address section 230 and pass a defense bill.

or you can not address section 230 and not pass a defense bill. there is no choice here where you can do both. so please make the right choice. please recognize all of the incredibly important, bicameral, bipolicy provisions that are contained in this bill. this is one thing, one thing in a very tumultuous time that we ought to be able to agree on. there are enough provisions and good policy in here for everyone in this body. i want to close by thanking everyone in this body. we've worked together on this process. i'm now finishing up my two years as chairman. micah cuss in their infinite wisdom has given me for this two years to do the job. but these first two years, i really enjoyed the process. a lot of members, members keep coming up to me and saying, oh, you got a terrible job, it must be difficult, you have all these people making all these demands. i love what i do. i am in a position where all the other teams here to help people. we don't always succeed we don't always get it done but we have a

chance. and every member of the house and senate, i think we've worked together, we have produced an outstanding product. let us reward ourselves for our work, let us take care of the troops as we are supposed to do, and pass >> after the house debate thwmakers passed the bill wi 37 democrats voting against the measure. is back this week with the full agenda. to begin monday in the house with the vote to override the 40 billion defense authorization bill. president trump said he objected to the bill's failure to repeal section 230 which protects social media companies and the removal of confederate names from military installations. if the veto override is successful in the house, it goes to the senate. the house may also vote on

another spending bill. current government funding expires monday at midnight. house democrats could try again to pass an increase in the covid stimulus checks from $600 to the 00 requested by the president of the house gavels in at 2 p.m. eastern i c-span. the first votes in the senate are expected tuesday on c-span 2. week before president trump vetoed the defense authorization bill, senate majority leader mitch mcconnell announced if the president vetoed the bill, the senate would return this tuesday for a possible override vote. s sunday,x new republican senator pat toomey was asked about that. president trump wait until wednesday tor on veto the national defense authorization act which you voted in favor of. affirming 3% pay raises for troops and authorizes more than

$740 billion of military programs and construction. do you have the votes to override president trump's veto? >> well, i think we will find out pretty soon. this legislation has been passed by congress every year for i think about 60 years running. it has been signed by presidents. it does put the right priorities behind our defense policy and it passed both houses with huge overwhelming votes. but we'll see. that is why you have the vote. >> vice president mike pence and his wife karen received the covid-19 vaccine at walter reed hospital. they were joined by the surgeon general jerome adams who was also vaccinated.