'Our Enemies Are Not Delaying Their Ambitions': John Thune Urges Bipartisan Support For NDAA

2 months ago

During remarks on the Senate floor, Sen. John Thune (R-SD) spoke about the National Defense Authorization Act.

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Transcript

00:00The Israeli Prime Minister's speech in Congress yesterday, a speech that a number of my Democrat

00:05colleagues and Vice President Harris chose to boycott, was a timely reminder of the dangerous

00:11world we face.

00:15Iran-backed terrorist organizations like Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis fomenting terror and

00:23instability in the Middle East.

00:25An emboldened Russia engaged in a ground war against Ukraine on the doorstep of our NATO

00:32allies.

00:33An increasingly aggressive China and an increasingly endangered Taiwan.

00:41And the unfortunate truth, Mr. President, is that we are not as prepared as we should

00:46be to confront these threats.

00:50We have service branches struggling with recruitment.

00:55We have ships that can't sail and planes that can't fly because of maintenance issues.

01:00We have shortages of munitions.

01:04Our colleague Senator Wicker, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee,

01:08recently put forward a blueprint for rebuilding our military.

01:12He points out that our defense budget as a share of the economy has fallen to near historic

01:17lows, hardly in line with the threats that we face today.

01:22And he proposes increasing the defense budget over the next few years alongside important

01:27reforms to put our military in a position of strength, not just now, but well into the

01:33future.

01:35It's a call that we need to heed.

01:38Last fall, the Strategic Posture Commission offered a disturbing assessment, and I quote,

01:43today the United States is on the cusp of having not one, but two nuclear peer adversaries,

01:50each with ambitions to change the international status quo by force if necessary, a situation

01:58which the United States did not anticipate and for which it is not prepared, end quote.

02:05A situation which the United States did not anticipate and for which it is not prepared.

02:15That is a pretty disturbing analysis, Mr. President.

02:20And it underlines the absolute imperative of addressing our military readiness today,

02:27which brings me to this year's National Defense Authorization Act.

02:31I'm grateful that our colleagues on the Armed Services Committee have put forward a bill

02:34that, while it does not authorize all the investment our military needs, does take steps

02:41to address the challenges that we're facing.

02:45This year's NDAA authorizes full funding for the European and Pacific deterrence initiatives

02:50and takes steps to strengthen our partnerships to counter Russia and China.

02:56It takes important steps to modernize our military and authorize financing for the technologies

03:01and weapons of tomorrow.

03:04And it authorizes the purchase of new ships, combat vehicles, and aircraft to update our

03:09aging fleets.

03:11I'm particularly pleased to report that this bill includes full funding for the next steps

03:15of the B-21 mission, including necessary support facilities.

03:21The Air Force calls the B-21 Raider, its new long-term strategic bomber, the future backbone

03:29of the bomber force.

03:31And I'm incredibly proud that this mission will be hosted at South Dakota's own Ellsworth

03:38Air Force Base.

03:40And one of my top priorities here in Congress is ensuring that the Air Force, and Ellsworth

03:45in particular, has everything it needs for this critical advancement in our nation's

03:51readiness.

03:52Mr. President, the Senate Armed Services Committee passed this year's National Defense Authorization

03:57Act on June 13th.

04:01And well over a month later, the Democrat leader still hasn't found time for this critical

04:06legislation, nor is there any indication of when he will.

04:11It says a lot about Democrats' priorities.

04:15But I hope that the Democrat leader will take a moment to consider that while he puts our

04:20defense on the back burner, our enemies are not delaying their ambitions or their aggressive

04:27activities.

04:29And I hope he will bring this important and consequential legislation to the floor in

04:35the very near future.

'Our Enemies Are Not Delaying Their Ambitions': John Thune Urges Bipartisan Support For NDAA

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