'Wasting The Time Of The American People': Shelley Capito Slams Senate Dems For Not Bringing NDAA

last month

During remarks on the Senate floor, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) demanded the National Defense Authorization Act be brought to the floor for debate and passage.

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Transcript

00:00Thank you Madam President. I rise today to address something that is not getting done on time

00:06as it deserves to be done on the Senate floor and that is the fiscal year 2025 National Defense

00:14Authorization Act. I'm very pleased to see my fellow senator from the great state of Mississippi

00:19who is a ranking member on this committee and he has spent numerous hours and days and weeks

00:26working this bill but also educating members and senators as to how important this is.

00:33The National Defense Authorization Act or the NDAA as we call it is an annual display of support

00:39for the national security of our country here in the United States Congress. In fact we have

00:45passed the NDAA for 63 consecutive years. This bipartisan legislation supports our troops,

00:53supports our national security and strengthens the capabilities of the U.S. military. In a time

01:01when we face some of the most dangerous security environments since World War II, the NDAA should

01:07be one of our top legislative priorities but unfortunately Leader Schumer just doesn't seem

01:14to agree and with the support of my Democrat colleagues Leader Schumer has spent much of the

01:21summer on messaging votes that are crafted with no true intention of making a law,

01:27nominations for federal entities which we're going to be doing all day today and the confirmation

01:34of judges that have some of them no business serving on the bench. This is not what the

01:39American people sent us to do for our country. The urgent need to pass the NDAA becomes obvious

01:47when you take into account what is currently happening in the world around us. First our

01:53ally and friend Israel is under attack by Iran and its terrorist clients. Last week we welcomed

02:01President Benjamin Netanyahu for a joint address to Congress and he detailed the stark reality

02:07that his country is facing. Just a few days ago, just a few days ago we learned the devastating

02:14news that 12 children and teenagers were killed by a Hezbollah strike while innocently playing

02:20on a soccer field. We know that Iran is the aggressor behind these attacks and we know

02:26that they are doing all they can to grow their nuclear capabilities as well. Imagine the dangers

02:33of a nuclear-armed Iran and what that means for the stability in the Middle East. The last 24

02:40hours alone have shown the rapid pace at which the Middle East security environment is changing.

02:48Israel is showing that it has the will and the capability to fight back against their aggressors

02:54and I stand strongly in support with this ally. Second, there is a large-scale ground war going

03:02on in Europe for the first time since World War II and we know that Putin's territorial ambition

03:09and aggressions extend far beyond the Ukraine. Third, we are witnessing an unprecedented military

03:17build-up by China accompanied by aggressions against Taiwan, the Philippines, Japan, and other

03:25partners in the region. This summer alone, China aggression in the South China Sea has threatened

03:33to spark a dangerous conflict with the Philippines, a country that has a mutual defense treaty

03:40with these United States. And just five days ago, I feel like it's everything's week to week,

03:47five days ago, two Chinese and two Russian nuclear-capable bombers were detected near the

03:54coast of Alaska, prompting U.S. fighter jets to intercept these aircrafts. This is the first time

04:01we've seen this type of joint strategic bombing training between China and Russia in their

04:07no-limits partnership. Throughout all of this, we are watching China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea

04:15reinforce one another in their aggression. They are supporting one another and sharing resources

04:22to achieve objectives directly opposed to the United States, our way of life, and our values.

04:29If that doesn't raise alarm bells, I just don't know what will. On top of this,

04:36the National Defense Commission, charged with assessing our nation's preparedness for future

04:42conflict, gave us a pretty stark warning this week, which was, and I quote,

04:48the U.S. is facing the most challenging threats we've seen since 1945, and we aren't ready for it.

04:57According to this report, the Biden National Defense Strategy simply doesn't prepare us

05:02to deter or prevail in a future conflict. According to one headline, the Pentagon has

05:10insufficient forces, inadequate, to face China and Russia. Here again, we cannot wait.

05:18We have to get serious about our national security. As I mentioned, Senator Wicker,

05:24he understands this. That's why he's released a proposal to help us repair our anemic military

05:31so that we are not at our lowest number of aircraft, ships, and munitions when China is

05:38building to their highest. It is clear that now is the time to invest in our military,

05:44our personnel, and our capabilities. We can do that and send a clear message to both our allies

05:52and our adversaries by passing a strong and robust NDAA. American leadership on the world stage

06:00has long been defined by peace through strength, but in order to do that, we must invest in strength

06:09first. The NDAA authorizes programs the Department of Defense needs to replenish and grow our

06:17military stockpiles, and to invest in innovation and modernization programs we might need for a

06:23future fight. The NDAA will make critical upgrades to our nuclear, hypersonic, missile defense,

06:31and our space programs, and restore the arsenal of democracy by ensuring our country's ammo

06:38plants have the tools they need to modernize amid increasing demands for munitions.

06:44These are the facilities like the Allegheny Ballistics Laboratory, which proudly

06:48operates in my home state of West Virginia. It also invests directly in the men and women

06:54of our military, providing a 4.5 percent pay raise for service members and increasingly

07:01increasing that monthly pay for our junior enlisted troops as well. I've also worked to

07:09ensure provisions for my own state of West Virginia and how we can contribute

07:13to building our military and strengthening our national defense. It supports upgrades and

07:19operations at the Air National Guard facilities like the 130th Airlift Wing in Charleston,

07:25West Virginia. It directs that the U.S. Army moves forward on testing and fielding active

07:30protection systems on Army ground combat vehicles to implement lessons learned from watching the

07:37failure of Russian tanks in Ukraine, and some of that testing is being done in West Virginia.

07:44The bill supports the resilience of undersea cables used by the Department of Defense

07:49to make certain that critical missions are not disrupted, and provisions that move our

07:55country away from reliance on foreign sources for critical precursor chemicals used for the

08:02manufacture of U.S. weapons. These are just a handful of the provisions included in the NDAA,

08:08but they speak to the importance of the legislation and the steps we need to take now

08:14to make sure that our military remains ready for any conflict that we may face in the future.

08:21The crux of the issue is this. The House of Representatives passed their version of the NDAA

08:27on June the 14th. The Senate Armed Services Committee approved our version of the NDAA

08:35the day before that. That would be June 13th. And we've heard absolutely nothing from the Democrat

08:41leader about when he will bring this vital leadership to the floor for debate and consideration.

08:48So we're wasting the time of the American people on show votes and inconsequential nominees.

08:54Republicans are demanding action. We want to continue to point out the danger of sidelining

09:00our national security priorities. There is a desperate need for American leadership on the

09:05world stage, and a strong bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act helps us to get there.

09:12So I encourage my colleagues on the other side of the aisle

09:15to please recognize that. And with that, I yield the floor.

'Wasting The Time Of The American People': Shelley Capito Slams Senate Dems For Not Bringing NDAA

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