Quorum call mr. Cornyn madam president . The presiding officer the sphror texas. Mr. Cornyn madam president , i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Cornyn madam president , i understand there is a bill at the desk due for its second reading. The presiding officer the clerk will read the bill for the second time. The clerk s. 3011, a bill to improve the accountability, efficiency, transparency, and overall effectiveness of the federal government. Mr. Cornyn madam president , in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule 14, i object to further proceedings. The presiding officer objection being heard, the bill will be placed on the calendar. Mr. Cornyn madam president , anybody whos been watching the national news, and particularly the weather, knows that weve been having some serious flooding back home in texas and, tragically, we lost nine soldiers at fort hood in a very unfortunate drowning incident as part of that. These soldiers were in the midst of a Training Mission when their vehicle got snuck a flooded creek stuck in a flooded creek. I know i speak for a a lot of people when i say that my prayers and condolences are with the families of the soldiers. I knew the Fort Hood Community is a resilient one and has seen more than its fair share of tragedy in recent years. I also known that the community in coline along with the entire nation will continue to offer support for our men and women in iewj form and particular in uniform and particularly for those who have lost loved ones. Amidst the sad nurks i have been continually thankful for the hard work and dedication of First Responders who have devoted their lives to saving others. It is at times like these when they rise to the occasion that i am particularly grateful for their service. As you might expect, my staff and i are in close contact with local officials across the state of texas and the more than 30 counties where Governor Abbott has declared a disaster, and well be working with the governor as they prepare to assess the damage on the ground and determine what sort of federal resources are necessary to help the people rebuild. Should Governor Abbott request a formal federal declaration of disaster for the affected counties, i intend to do everything i can to help get such a request granted to make sure that these texans have what they need to recover as quickly as possible. I would say, on a happier note, during this last week, we also had the occasion to celebrate memorial day, a day of remembrance. And you know many of us had a chance to spend time with true american heroes, the veterans, the active duty military members and their families, to remember the fallen on memorial day. I had a particularly delightfuls memorial day to spend time with 115 High School Graduates from across texas as part of a sendoff ceremony as they prepared to head to our nations military academies. Weve been doing this every year for ten years, and as i always tell people, if youre a little down in your if youre in a bad mood or feeling a little bit depressed, all you need to do is be around these wonderful young men and women who are really mature beyond their years and who aspire not only to attend our Nations Service academies but to be the next generation of military leaders. They truly are the best and the brightest. And its also great to provide an occasion for these young people, for their families to be there and to hear from inspirational leaders like colonel bruce crandall, a medal of honor winner from the vietnam war. So it is remembering this last week and the service of so many people in the defense of our nation and these young people that i just mentioned on memorial day and our academy sendoff, its appropriate that we return here to the senate this week to finish the National Defense authorization bill, legislation take will provide our military men and women with the resources they need in order to protect and defend our country. This is an absolutely critical piece of legislation and one that congress has passed each year for some 50 years plus. If you doubt that, all you need to do is ask chairman mccain because he will remind you every chance he gets that this is must pass every year legislation and something that has become a tradition, a good tradition for the senate. This bill was passed out of the Armed Services committee with overwhelming bipartisan support. Not a single democrat voted against the legislation. And before memorial day, the senate voted unanimously to move this legislation forward, 98 yes and no no votes but despite the clear this being a clear bipartisan priority, weve been stuck and mired down frankly because of objections from the other side of the aisle for no real reason. The minority leader has chosen to use every tactic, every tool available to him to slow this down. Frankly, this is not acceptable. The Defense Authorization bill provides, as i said, Critical Resources to our military. It will give our men and women in uniform a modest pay raise and support critical training and equipment modernization efforts and it ensures that future generations of military leaders have the support they need. Now, i dont know what happened at fort hood when these nine soldiers drowned but i hope it doesnt have anything to do with their lack of adequate training under these sorts of circumstances. But what we need to do as part of our duty here in the United States senate is to get our work done, to pass a Defense Authorization bill so there is no, not even a suspicion or hint of a lack of adequate training and preparation by our military members that leads to tragedy. And at a time when we faced instability at every turn and our military is confronting evolving and constant threat, political posturing is just not appropriate. In fact, its dangerous. Unfortunately, this is a product of misguided Foreign Policy choices made by this administration over the last eight years. Its put our country and our military at greater risk. Our enemies have been have become emboddenned and our allies confidence has been shaken. Nptd of recognizing the growing threats our military instead of recognizing the growing threats our military men and women face every day, the president tries to diminish them or call in things like the isis he called the j. V. Team. This is a terrorist group that continues its reign of violence across iraq and syria and continuings to grow in continues to grow in strength across africa. Words matter. When president obama and former secretary of state clinton refuse it sends a message. When the Obama Administration and its allies ignore the reality of the enemy were facing. Our men and women are at greater risk for not having the full resources they need in order to defend u. S. Interests at home and abroad. A few weeks ago i had the chance to visit with u. S. Soldiers in the middle east and to get a good glimpse of the reality on the ground that the administration seems to be lacking. I heard firsthand about the threats they face every day from isis affiliated groups and that danger is growing, not receding. And theres no doubt in my mind that this growing isis presence correlates with gaps in our Foreign Policy under the Obama Administration. This is particularly clear in libya where the Obama Administration failed in 20011 2011 that its failure left a gaping hole of power, another failed state in the middle east which is, weve seen before, weve seen this before, become as power vacuum which attracts foreign fighters and other people who want to use that to leap into europe and to commit acts of terror, either there or in the United States. After secretary clinton pushed to remove omar qaddafi, this he prematurely heralded this as hur signature achievement as secretary of state. This is something president obama now admits was a mistake he calls it her signature achievement as secretary of state. Yet the vacuum created by retreating United States in the region has only led to more chaos and the isis fighters and recruiters have quickly filled the space as i said a moment ago. The Financial Times even called it quote a mess no one should think will be resolved by the current u. N. Backed peace process. It provides a strategic launch point as i said directly across the mediterranean and europe. In 2011 when the Obama Administration decided to lead from behind in labia lacking any coherent longterm strategy, i strongly opposed that decision. And while i cant say the same for others i have served with in the senate, ive been proud to vote against this pre against premature troop withdrawals in the volatile region like iraq which following the surge which the chairman of the Armed Services committee and so many others said this was our one last chance at iraq, to see us now fighting even as trainers and advisors in places fallujah and ramadi and other places where weve lost young lives to liberate, to see those now squandered by a premature exit from iraq due to the failure of the administration to get a status force its disheartening. We opposed a surge but the fact is it paid off and now we see all too dearly the consequences of precipitous withdrawal and squandering the hard earned progress achieved by the surge. Of course, secretary clinton defended president obamas decision to remove u. S. Troops before the region could be stabilized. In fact, when asked about the potential threat of civil war in iraq by exiting too early, secretary clinton simply said quote well, lets find out. Well, we found out after all. Foreign policy isnt something we just find out about or make up as we go along. It requires thoughtful planning and purposeful intentional action. Syria of course is another case study of what can happen when the white house refuses to act decisively and proactively against our adversaries. And unfortunately when red lines are crossed with no consequences and when groups like isis arent treated as the serious threat they are, terrorism can make its way on to u. S. Soil. Just consider the attacks at San Bernardino or the multiple attacks on our allies in europe. And unfortunately as groups like isis are getting stronger, our friends around the world are increasingly getting concerned that the United States doesnt have their back. The white house prioritized its courtship with iran, the number one state sponsor of global terrorism while choosing to ignore our friends and allies in the region. Madam president , by turning its back on israel to give iran billion, of dollars in sanctions relief, this was a hallmark of president obamas tenure in the oval office and secretary clinton said that she was proud to play a part in crafting that terrible nuclear deal. This simply is not good Foreign Policy. Why should we choose to reward those who have harmed us or threatened us while ignoring our oldest and strongest relationships. The result is what you would pretty much expect, an iran that is growing in beledge rans with a Nuclear Program largely intact. Our actions do speak louder than words and right now our friends in the middle east and around the world are losing faith in their rtle sthp with relationship with the United States. This is simply a product of failed Foreign Policy under the obamaclinton leadership. I think its tell whg former president jimmy carter, a democrat was asked about president obamas policy in the world stage, he said that quote i cant think of many nations in the word where we have a better relationship now than we did when he took over. This is president carter on president obamas foreign relations. He went on to go through a list of countries as examples of where in his words the United States influence and prestige and respect in the world is probably lower now than it was six or seven years ago. On that point, i agree with president carter. The Foreign Policy of this administration is nothing to be proud of. So, madam president , our job now in the senate is to reassure our allies that the military might of the United States is not fallen by the wayside. One way we could do that is by ensuring our military has the resources and funding necessary to remain strong and a strong emblem of american strength for the rest of the watching world. After delays and obstruction from our friends on the other sired of the aisle, i hope we can finally complete our work this week on the Defense Authorization bill under the able leadership of chairman mccain. Madam president , i yield the floor. Mr. Mccain madam president . The presiding officer the senator from arizona. Mr. Mccain i would like to thank the senator from texas for his very compelling statement and just one example of what the senator from texas has referred to as the whole issue of qadda qaddafi. I would remind my colleague from texas that we got rid of qaddafi without losing a single american and then walked away. We walked away from it and now we see isis now establishing a strong beach head, a direct fail lir of leadership of the Obama Administration and then secretary osecretary of state. There were many of us including the senator from texas who said, look, weve got to do a the low of things with now that youve gotten rid of qaddafi. This country has known no democracy. It has no institutions. We could have taken care of their wounded. We could have helped secure the borders. Instead we kill qaddafi his own People Killed him but we set up a scenario and walked away, just as we walked away from iraq, just as were sort of walking away from afghanistan while tal taliban is starting to show success throughout the country. This administration is very good at walking away and unfortunately the consequences are attacks on the United States of america and europe. So i thank the senator from texas for his very important statement. Madam president , its my pleasure to rise with my friend and colleague from rhode island to speak about the National Defense authorization act for fiscal year 2017. For 54 consecutive years, congress has passed this vital piece of legislation which provides our military Service Members with the resources, equipment and training that they need to defend the nation. Its one of the few bills in congress that continues to enjoy bipartisan support year after year. Thats a testament to this legislations critical importance to our National Security and the high regard with which it is held by the congress. Last month the senate Armed Services committee voted 233, 233 to approve the ndaa, an overwhelming vote that reflects the committees proud tradition of bipartisan support for the brave men and women of our Armed Services. I want to thank the committees Ranking Member, the senator from rhode island, for his months of hard work on the ndaa. Its been a great pleasure to work with him on this legislation and i remain appreciative of the thoughtfulness and bipartisan spirit with which he approaches our National Security. Hes a great partner and a great realeader. I also want to thank the majority leader, the senator from kentucky for his commitment for bringing the ndaa to the senate floor on time and without delay. Its a testimony to his leadership that the senate will once again consider this bill in regular order with an open amendment process. I am tremendously proud of the senate Armed Services committees work on this legislation. This years ndaa is the most significant piece of defense reform legislation in 30 years. It includes major reforms to the department of defense that can help our military to rise to the challenge of a more dangerous world. The ndaa contains updates to the pentagons organization to prioritize innovation and improve the development and execution of defense strategy. The ndaa the legislation continues sweeping reforms of the defense acquisition system to harness American Innovation and preserve our militarys technological edge. The ndaa modernizes the military Health System to provide military Service Members, retirees and their families with Higher Quality care, better access to care and better experience of care. The ndaa authorizes a pay raise for our troops. It invests in the modern equipment and advanced training they need to meet current and future threats. It helps to restore military readiness for the 2 billion for additional training, depot maintenance and weapon sustainment. And it gives our allies and partners the support they need to deter aggression and fight terrorism. This is a farreaching piece of legislation. There is one challenge it could not address. The dangerous mismatch between growing worldwide threats and arbitrary limits on defense spending thats in current law. And this mismatch has very real consequences for the thousands of americans who serve in uniform and sacrifice on our behalf all around the nation and the world. Our troops are doing everything we ask of them, but we must ask ourselves are we doing everything we can for them . The answer, i say, with profound sadness, is we are not, we are not. Since 2011, the budget control act has imposed arbitrary caps on defense spending, and over the last five years as our military has struggled under the threat of sequestration, the world has only grown more complex and far more dangerous. Since 2011, we have seen Russian Forces invade ukraine, the emergence of the socalled Islamic State and its Global Campaign of terrorism, increased attempts by iran to destabilize u. S. Allies and partners in the middle east, growing assertive behavior by china and the militarization of the south china sea, numerous Cyber Attacks on u. S. Industry and Government Agencies and further testing by north korea of Nuclear Technology and other advanced military capabilities. Indeed, the director of National IntelligenceJames Clapper testified in february that over the course of his distinguished fivedecade career, he could not recall a more diverse array of challenges and crises than our nation confronts today. Our military is being forced to confront these growing threats with shrinking resources. This years Defense Budget is more than 150 billion less than fiscal year 2011, and despite periodic relief from the budget caps that impose these cuts including the bipartisan budget act of last year, each of our military services remains underfunded, undersized and unready to meet current and future threats. In short, as threats grow and the operational demands on our military increase, defense spending in constant dollars is decreasing. How does that make any sense . The president s Defense Budget request strictly adheres to the bipartisan budget agreement which is 17 billion less than what the department of defense planned for last year. As a result, the military services unfunded requirement total nearly 23 billion for the coming fiscal year alone. Meanwhile, sequestration threatens to return in 2018, taking away another 100 billion from our military through 2021. This is unacceptable. This is unacceptable. While the ndaa confirms conforms to last years budget agreement at present, i have filed an amendment to increase defense spending above the current spending caps. This amendment will reverse shortsighted cuts to modernization, restore military readiness and give our Service Members the support they need and deserve. I do not know whether or not this amendment will succeed, but the senate must have this debate, and senators, were going to have to choose a side. At the same time, as i have long believed, providing for the common defense is not just about a bigger Defense Budget, as necessary as that is. We must also reform our Nations Defense enterprise to meet new threats both today and tomorrow and to give americans greater confidence, which they dont have a lot of now. The department of defense is spending their tax dollars efficiently and effectively. That is exactly what this legislation does. The last major reorganization at the department of defense was the goldwaternickels act which marks its 30th anniversary this year. Last fall, the senate Armed Services committee had a series of 13 hearings on defense reform. We heard from 52 of our nations foremost defense experts and leaders. The goldwaternickels october of 30 years ago responded to the challenges of its time. Our goal was to determine what changes need to be made to prepare the department of defense to meet a new set of strategic challenges. As jim locker, the lead staffer on goldwaternickels testified last year, and i quote no organizational blueprint lasts forever. The world in which department of defense must operate has changed dramatically over the last 30 years. Instead of one great power rival, the United States now faces a series of transregional, crossfunctional, multidomain and longterm strategic competitions that pose a significant challenge to the organization of the pentagon and the military, which is often rigidly aligned around functional issues and regional geography. Put simply, the goldwaternickels act of 30 years ago was about operational effectiveness, improving the ability of the military services to plan and operate together as one joint force. The problem today is strategic integration. How the department of defense integrates its activities and resources across different regions, functions and domains while balancing and sustaining those efforts over time. The ndaa would require the next secretary of defense to create a series of crossfunctional Mission Teams to better integrate the departments efforts and achieve discrete objectives. For example, one could examine a Russian Mission team with representatives from policy intelligence, acquisition, Budget Services and more. There is no mechanism to perform this kind of integration at present. The secretary and the deputy have to do it ad hoc, which is an unrealistic burden. The idea of crossfunctional teams have been shown to be tremendously effective in the private sector and by innovative military leaders such as general stan mcchrystal. If applied effectively in the office of the secretary of defense, i believe this concept could be every bit as impactful as the goldwaternickels reforms. The ndaa would also require the next secretary to reorganize one combatant command around joint task forces, focused on discrete Operational Missions rather than military services. Here, too, the goal is to improve integration across Different Military functions and do so with far fewer staff than these commands now have. Similarly, the legislation seeks to clarify the role of the chairman of the joint chiefs, focusing this leader on more Strategic Issues while providing the chairman Greater Authority to assist the secretary with the global integration of military operations. The ndaa also seeks to curb the growth and civilian staff and military officers that occurred in recent years. Over the past 30 years, the end strength thats the total number of members of services the end strength of the joint force has decreased by 38 . The number of men and women serving in the military has decreased by 38 , but the ratio of fourstar officers thats admirals and generals to the Overall Force has increased by 65 . Weve seen similar increases among civilians at the Senior Executive service level. The ndaa therefore requires a carefully tailored 25 reduction in the number of general and flag officers, a corresponding 25 decrease to the ranks of senior civilians and a 25 cut to the amount of money that can be spent on contractors that are doing staff work. The ndaa also caps the size of the National SecurityCouncil Policy staff at 150. The National SecurityCouncil Staff will be capped at 150. The staff has steadily grown over administrations of both parties in recent decades. Under George Herbert walker bush, there were 40, and now more than first 40 under George Herbert walker bush. More than 100 in the clinton administration. More than 200 during the george w. Bush administration. And now there are reports of nearly 400 under the Current Administration, plus as many as 200 contractors. This tremendous growth has enabled a troubling expansion of the n. S. C. Staffs activities from its original Strategic Focus to micromanagement of operational issues in ways that are inconsistent with the intent of congress when it created the n. S. C. In 1947. Its gotten so bad, so bad that all three leaders who served as secretary of defense under the Current Administration recently blasted the n. S. C. s micromanagement of operational issues during their tenures. Former secretary of defense leon panetta. Leon panetta has come out publicly in favor of shrinking the n. S. C. Staff, saying he thinks we can do the job better with fewer people. In short, the n. S. C. Staff is becoming increasingly involved in operational issues that should be the per view of senateconfirmed individuals in the chain of command, and doing so beyond the reach of congressional oversight. If this organization were to return to the intent of the legislation that established it, it could reasonably claim that its strategic functions on behalf of the president are protected by executive privilege. If on the other hand the n. S. C. Staff is to play the kind of operational role that it has in recent years and i could give my colleagues example after example, but if we were going to play the kind of operational role that it has in recent years, then such a body cannot escape congressional oversight. The purpose of the provision in the ndaa is to cap the size of the n. S. C. Staff, is to state a preference for the congress original intent, congress original intent in creating the n. S. C. Integration as i have said is a major theme in the ndaa. Another is innovation. For years after the cold war, the United States enjoyed a near monopoly on advanced military technologies. That is changing rapidly. Our adversaries are catching up, and the United States is at real and increasing risk of losing the military and technological dominance that we have taken for granted for 30 years. At the same time, our leaders are struggling to innovate against an acquisition system that too often impedes their efforts. I have applauded secretary carters attempts to innovate and reach out to nontraditional hightech firms, but it is telling that this is required this has required the secretarys personal intervention to create new offices, organizations, outposts and initiatives, all too move faster and get around the current acquisition system. Innovation cannot be an auxiliary at the department of defense. It must be the Central Mission of its acquisition system. Unfortunately, that is not the case for the office of the under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and lodge is particulars are known as a. T. L. It has grown too big, tries to do too much and is too focused on compliance at the expense of innovation. Thats why the ndaa seeks to divide a. T. L. s duties between two offices a new under secretary of defense for research and engineering, and an empowered and renamed under secretary of management and support which was congressionally mandated two years ago. The job of research and engineering would be developing defense technologies that can ensure a u. S. Qualitative military dominance. This office would set defense wide acquisition and industrialbased policy. It would pull together the centers of innovation and the defense acquisition system and it would oversee the development and manufacturing of weapons by the services. In short, research and engineering would be a staff job focused on innovation policy and oversight of the military services and certain defense agencies such as darpa. By contrast, management and support would basically be a Line Management position. It would manage the multibilliondollar businesses such as the Defense Logistics Agency and the Defense Commissary Agency that buys goods and services for the department of defense. It would also manage other defense agencies that perform other critical business functions for the department such as performing audits, paying our troops and managing contracts. This would not only enable research and engineering to focus on technology development, it would also provide for a better management of billions of dollars of spending on Mission Support activities. These organizational changes complement the additional acquisition reforms in the ndaa that build on our efforts of last year. This legislation creates new pathways for the department of defense to do business with nontraditional defense firms. It streamlines regulations to procure commercial goods and services. It provides new authorities for the rapid prototyping, acquisition and fielding of new capabilities and it imposes new limits on the use of socalled costplus contracts. The overuse of these kinds of contracts and the complicated and expensive government bureaucracy that goes with them serves as a barrier to entry for commercial, nontraditional and Small Businesses that are driving the innovation our military needs. Another major reform in this years ndaa is the most sweeping overhaul of the military Health System in a generation. This strong bipartisan effort is the result of several years of careful study. The ndaa creates Greater Health value for military families and retirees and their families by improving the quality of health care they receive, providing timely access to care and enhancing patient satisfaction, all done at lower cost to the patients by encouraging them to seek highvalue Health Services from highville Health Care Providers highvalue Health Care Providers. The ndaa incorporates the best practices of highperforming private sector Health Care Providers. For example, the ndaa creates Specialized Care Centers of k excellence at Major Medical centers based on the specialized care delivery model in highperforming Health Systems like the cleveland clinic. The legislation also expands the use of teleHealth Services and incentivizes participation in disease management programs. Finally the ndaa expands and improves access to care by requiring a standardized appointment system in military Treatment Facilities and creating more options for patients to get health care in the private sector. Taken together these reforms along with many others in the bill will improve access to and quality of care for Service Members and their families and retirees and their families, improve the military and combat medical readiness of our force and reduce Rising Health care costs for the department of defense. This entails some difficult decisions. The ndaa makes significant changes to the Services Medical command structures and right sizes the costly military Health System infrastructure. And, yes, the ndaa asks some beneficiaries to pay a little more for a better Health System but let me make three brief points. First, active duty Service Members will not pay for any Health Care Services or prescription drugs they receive. And the ndaa does not increase the cost of health care a single cent for families of active duty Service Members enrolled in tricare prime. There will continue to be no enrollment fees for their Health Care Coverage and all beneficiaries, including retirees and their families, will continue to receive Health Care Services and prescription drugs free of charge in Military Hospitals and clinics. Second, the ndaa does ask workingage retirees, many of whom are pursuing a second career, to pay a little more. Increases in annual enrollment fees for tricare choice are phased in over time and there are modest increases in pharmacy copays at retail pharmacies and through mail order pharmacy is i. It is important to remember 61 of retirees live within the service area of a Military Hospital or clinic where they will continue to enjoy no copays for prescription drugs. And all military retirees have access to the mailorder pharmacy where they can access a 90day supply of generic prescriptions free of charge through fiscal year 2019. Third, while some military retirees will pay a little more, the guiding principle of this reform effort is that we would not ask beneficiaries to pay more unless they receive greater value in return, better access, better care and Better Health outcomes. The ndaa delivers on that promise. Modernizing the military Health System is part of the ndaas focus on sustaining the quality of life of our military Service Members, retirees and their families. The ndaa authorizes a 1. 6 pay raise for our troops and reauthorizes over 30 types of bonuses. The legislation restructures and enhances leave for military parents to care for a new child and it provides stability for families of our fallen by permanently extending the special survivor indemnity allowance. No widow should have to worry year to year that she or he may not receive the offset of the socalled widows tax. If this ndaa becomes law, he or she will never have to. The ndaa also implements the recommendations of the department of Defense MilitaryJustice Review Group by incorporating the military justice act of 2016. The legislation modernized the military courtmartial trial and appellate practice, incorporates best practices from federal criminal practice and procedures and increases transparency and independent review in the military Justice System. Taken together, the provisions contained in the ndaa constitute the most significant reforms to the uniform code of military justice in a generation. Among the many military personnel policy provisions in the ndaa, there is one that thas already attracted some controversy. That is the provision in the ndaa that requires women to register for Selective Service to the same extent as men beginning in 2018. Earlier this year the department of defense lifted the ban on women serving in Ground Combat units, and after months of rigorous oversight a large bipartisan majority on the Armed Services committee agreed that there is simply no further justification to limit Selective Service registration to men. That is not just my view, but the view of every single one of our military Service Chiefs, including the army chief of staff and the commandant of the marine corps. There will likely be further debate on this issue. And as it unfolds, we must never forget that women have served honorably in our military for years. They filled Critical Roles in every branch of our military. Some have served as pilots like Martha Mcsally who fly combat missions in afghanistan. Some served as logistians like the chair, senator joni ernst. Others served as medics, nuclear engineers, boot camp instructors and more. Many of these women have served in harms way and many women made the ultimate sacrifice, including 160 killed in afghanistan and iraq. As we uphold our commitment to the wellbeing of our Service Members and their families, we must also uphold our commitment to american taxpayers. As part of the committees comprehensive effort to root out and eliminate wasteful spending and improve the department of defense acquisition system, the ndaa imposes strict oversight measures on programs such as the f35 joint strike fighter, b21 Long Range Strike bomber, the ford class Aircraft Carrier and the litoral combat ship. These provisions will ensure accountability for results, promote transparency, protect taxpayers and drive the department to deliver our war fighters the capability they need on time as promised and at reasonable cost. The ndaa also uphoepldz americas commitment to its allies and partners. It authorizes 3. 4 billion to support our afghan partners as they fight to preserve the gains of the last 15 years and defeat the terrorists who seek to destabilize the region and attack american interests. The legislation provides 1. 3 billion for counter isil operation. The ndaa fully supports the European Reassurance Initiative, increase the capability and readiness of u. S. And nato forces to deter and if necessary respond to russian aggression. It also authorizes up to 15 million in Security Assistance to ukraine, including lee that many assistance including lethal assistance. We should give the ukrainian people the ability to defend themselves. Finally, the legislation includes 239 million for u. S. Israel cooperative Missile Defense programs. As we continue to support allies and partners against common threats, the ndaa makes major reforms to the pentagons complex and unwieldy Security Corporation enterprise which has complicated the department of defenses ability to effectively prioritize, plan, execute and oversee these activities. Legislation also makes sure were not providing support to adversaries like russia. The u. S. Assured access to space continues to rely on Russian Rocket engines. Purchasing these engines provide financial benefit to Vladimir Putins cronies, including individuals that have been sanctioned by the United States and subsidizes the Russian MilitaryIndustrial Base. This is unacceptable at a time when russia continues to occupy crimea, destabilize ukraine, menace our nato allies, violate the 1987 intermediate range Nuclear Forces treaty and bomb moderate rebels in syria. Thats why the ndaa repeals provisions from last years omnibus appropriations bill that further defends from russia. Once the rocket engines allowed by the two ndaas are expanded the Defense Department would be required to assure access to space without the use of rocket engines designed or manufactured in russia. In testimony before the committee, the secretary of defense, the director of National Intelligence, and the secretary of the air force confirmed the United States can meet access to space requirements without the use of Russian Rocket engines. We do not have to rely on russia for access to space. Given the urgency of eliminating reliance on russian engines, the ndaa would allow for up to half of the funds for the development of a replacement launch vehicle or propulsion system to be made available for offsetting any potential increase in launch costs as a result of prohibitions on Russian Rocket engines. The 1. 2 billion budget over the next five years, we can cover the cost of ending our reliance on russia while developing the next generation of American Space launch capabilities. Finally, the legislation takes several steps to bolster Border Security and homeland defense. It authorizes 688 million for department of defense counter drug programs. It enhances information sharing and operation of coordination between the department of defense and the department of homeland security. It provides Additional Support for u. S. Southern command and it continues support for the u. S. Israel antitunneling Cooperation Program which helps to improve our efforts to restrict the flow of drugs across the u. S. Southern border. I say to my colleagues, this is an ambitious piece of legislation, and it is one that reflects the growing threats to our nation. Everything about the ndaa is threat driven. Everything, that is, but its top line of 602 billion. That is an arbitrary figure set by last years budget agreement, having nothing to do with events in the world, which itself was a product of five years of letting politics, not strategy, determine the level funding for our National Defense. Former chairman of the joint chiefs, general Martin Dempsey, described last years Defense Budget as quote the lower ragged edge of manageable risk. And yet here we are one year later, the defense spending arbitrarily capped at 17 billion what our military needed and planned for last year. I dont know what lies beneath the lower ragged edge of manageable risk, but this is what i fear it means. That our military is becoming less and less able to deter conflict. And that if god forbid deterrence does fail somewhere and we end up in conflict, our nation will deploy Young Americans into battle without sufficient training or equipment to fight a war that will take longer, be larger, cost more, and ultimately claim more american lives than it otherwise would have. That is the growing risk we face. And for the sake of the men and women sesqui in our military serving in our military, we cannot change course soon enough. The senate will have the opportunity to do just that when we consider my amendment to reverse the budgetdriven cuts to the capabilities of our armed forces that are needed to defend the nation. I hope we will seize this opportunity. You know, we ask a lot of our men and women in uniform, and they never let us down. We must not let them down. As we move forward with consideration of the ndaa, i stand ready to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass this important legislation and give our military the resources they need and deserve. Again, i note the presence of my he i he is schemed colleague d friend, rank esteemed colleague and friend, Ranking Member of the Armed Services committee, without whom this legislation would have been possible. It happens to be a great source of pride and i hope other americans who believe that we are bitterly divided, that in the case of defending this nation and providing for the men and women who we send into harms way, the senator from rhode island and i have developed a partnership that i believe has been incredibly productive. Without that kind of partnership that i have enjoyed with my friend from rhode island, it would not have been possible to produce this legislation, which is obviously the most important obligation that we have, thansdz to and that is to defend the nation. Madam president , i yield the floor. The presiding officer morning business is closed. Under the previous order, the motion to proceed to s. 2943 is agreed to. The clerk will report the bill. The clerk calendar number 469, s. 2943, a bill to authorize aappropriations for fiscal year 2017 for military activities of the department of defense and so forth and for other purposes. Mr. Mccain madam president . The presiding officer the senator from arizona. Mr. Mccain i call up amendment number 4206. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk senator mccain for mrs. Fisher proposes amendment numbered 4206 mr. Mccain i ask that reading be waived. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. Mr. Reed madam president , i would first ask that scott teller have floor privileges during the Floor Consideration of the National Defense authorization act. Officer without objection. Mr. Reed i rise to discuss the fy 2017 Defense Authorization bill passed by the Armed Services committee. I want to begin by thanking senator mccain for abling leading the committee through many thoughtprovoking hearings and a successful markup with bipartisan support of the bill, and i believe the committee has worked diligently to evaluate not only the president s budget can for fiscal year 201 but also to 23017 but also to take a harder look at the department of defense and consider what reforms are necessary. Most if not all of that effort is the direct leadership of senator mccain, ensuring that we were nor rowly immersed into the details that we had access to expert testimony that we heard both sides of the argument, led to the markup, which was productive and as a result legislation that is before us here today. I think we both concede we can make improvements and were both going to strive to do that over the course of the next several weeks. But were beginning with a very thoughtful and very constructive piece of legislation on the floor, and i thank the chairman for that. There are many provisions of that bill that will help the department, both today and in the future. It is a lengthy bill. It contains sweeping reforms, as the chairman described in some detail. And i support many aspects of this bill. In fact, i was privileged to work with the chairman and our staffs so that we can develop some of these aspects. But because of the scope and because of the range of these improvements and reforms, i believe and i think its shared by others that we need a continued dialogue with the department of defense and other experts to ensure that we not only take the first steps but the subsequent consequences, both intended and unintended, are wellknown and contribute to our overall National Security. We really must ensure truly that our decisions that are incorporated in this legislation improve the departments operations and do not create unnecessary and detrimental congresses. Let me highlight some of the aspects of the bill that will help our ongoing overseas operations. We are engaged in a difficult struggle with isil and radical extremists and critical to our efforts to fight against isil are our local partners, and that is why this bill includes 1. 3 billion to support the iraq and syria train equip programs and 18d 0 million to support the efforts of jordan and lebanon to secure their borders. The bill also includes 3. 4 billion for the Afghanistan Security forces fund to preserve the gains of the last 15 years. These are critical investments that enhance our interests and keep pressure on our enemy. The bill provides the funds necessary to enable our operations across iraq, syria, yemen, somalia and other locations while isil, al qaeda, and its remnants are dislocated. This funding will allow the department to hunt these organizations and illuminate their network of supporters. Ensuring that there is continuing pressure on these violent extremists is critical and it is with that focus that the chairman and i worked to include these elements in the legislation. The bill funds u. S. Special Operations Command at the requested level of 10. 76 billion, including an increase of 26. 7 million to help address technologies gaps identified by silcom. The vehicles are 00 important to our ability to carry out counterterrorism strikes while avoiding collateral damage. The bill also extends critical authority used by special Operations Forces and enhances the role in providing oversight and advocacy for silcom within the department. The fight against terrorism is not our fight alone and it requires the support of old and new partners across the globe. This bill will enable the department of defense to support and enable our foreign partners and also critically continue to provide support to our Intelligence Community to protect the homeland. Of major significance, this years bill would undertake the most comprehensive reform of the Defense DepartmentSecurity Cooperation enterprise in decades. Since 9 11, congress, partly at the request of the department and partly through our own doing, has created dozens of new authorities to enable our armed forces to engage with the National Security forces of friendly foreign countries. This patchwork has been difficult to and a half git and oversee. To address this problem, this bill would consolidate and streamline Security Cooperation authorities. This will greatly enhance the department of defenses 5b89 to address the wideranging and evolving nature of global threats. Additionally, the ndaa consolidates approximately 2 billion in Security Cooperation funding into a new fund, the Security Cooperation enhancement fund. This new fund will enhance public transparency, increase flexibility, and improve congressional oversight. While the department of defense is only responsible for two of the nine lines of effort against isil and this bill funds those two lines of effort d. O. D. Also plays an essential enabling role for many other parts of our government, telecommunicationly in the area of intelligence collection and analysis. This bill ensures the department is able to continue this critical support so that we can maintain an integrated effort against our en34eu678 the Department Defense i thedefene only Agency Responsible to for our security. This bill before us also includes 3. 4 billion to the european reenssurance initiative which will deliver critical to improve existing infrastructure and enhance allied and partner military capabilities to respond to external aggression and both regional stability. It also authorizes up to 500 million for the Ukraine TrainingAssistance Initiative to continue and expand ongoing efforts to support the ukrainian Security Forces in the defense of their country. One major concern the Committee Heard repeatedly and the chairman made reference to in numerous occasions is about the state of readiness of our troops and their equipment. I am very pleased that this bill contains almost 2 billion in additional readiness funding to satisfy some of the Service Chiefs unfund the requirements. With the goal of restoring military readiness as soon as possible. Additionally, all of these increases are pai paid for with correspondinged and tarlted reductions. One other aspect is our nuclear deterrence. It forms the bedrock of our defense posture, an essential mission which must not be neglected and our committee continues to support it on a bipartisan basis. The bill continues to fund the president s request to modernize our triad of nuclearcapable air, sea, and ground delivery platforms. This is the first year of full engineering, manufacturing, and Development Funding for the b21, which will replace the b52s, which were build in the 1960s. While the b21 will be costly, i believe this bill places rigries oversight on the program to ensure that we understand the tech million to lodge kalg risk as it moves forward. Turning to the area of undersea deterrence, if we were to maintain a seabased deterrence, the ohio submarines must be replaced starting in 2027. The first ohio submarine will be 46 years old by then, the oldest submarine to have sailed in our navy in its history. The third aspect of our triad, our landbased icbms, will not be replaced until 20 30s. We have authorized the initial development of replacement of this most responsive leg. Triad which acts as a counterbalance to russian icbms. Let me focus for a moment on the submarine programs, an important part of our National Security and an important part of my home state where construction begins. This bill supports the virginiaclass attack submarine production at a level of two per year. The navys requirement for attack submarines is having a force of 48 boats. Since attack submarine force levels will fall below 48 even with buying two virginiaclass submarines per year, we cannot allow these production rates to drop at all. The bill also supports the virginia payload module upgrade to the virginiaclass submarine with production starting in fiscal year 2019. The virginia payload module is important to Begin Replacing tomorroplacingtomahawks. Our support of the virginiaclass attack Submarines Program has led to stability that helped drive down costs and improve productivity. This bill continues that support and also supports the plans for achieving similar effectiveness on the ohio replacement program. Establishing and achieving reducks goals if these virginiaclass and ohio replacement programs will yield significant stability to our nations submarine Industrial Base, which will ensure the navy has a modern, capable smeeng fleet for many years to come. The chairman has also indicated in his remarks the bill accomplishes much on behalf of our Service Membersaged the department of defense p. It authorizes a 1. 6 a 1. 6 pay raise and reauthorizes a number of expiring bongs and special pay authorities to encourage enlistment, reenlistment and continued service by active duty and reserve components. The bill permanently extends the special survivor endemocrat knit allowance scheduled to irexpire next year, clarifies the aapplicability of Employment Rights for military tech nirks establishes an independent, National Commission on National Military and subservice and makes numerous enhancements to whistleblower protections. Notably, this bill contains a package of health care reforms. The current military Health Care System designed decades ago has served us well. Since 2001, battlefield injury survival rates have been higher than at any time in our nations history. Battlefield med sing a pocket of excellence that must be maintained. It is also clear that the military Health Care System has increasingly emphasized delivering peacetime health care and beneficiaries have voiced their concerns about access to care. While i no he that many in the military community are wary of changes to the Health Care System, i believe the reforms included in this bill are designed to improve and main tong operational medical force readiness while at the same time affording better value to tricare beneficiaries by providing higherquality medical care with better sack tows that care and a better experience in the process. Im also pleased to note that the mark includes the 105 recommendations of the million taker Justice Review Group. The review group was made up of judges and lawyers, all military justice experts who spent 18 months reviewing and providing recommended changes to update the entire u. S. Code of military justice. These provisions provide a much needed updating of the military Justice System, and i want to commend the members of the review group for their work and the counsels on our committee for all their efforts in this area. A major effort again has been highlighted by the chairman is to continue the senate tro decision of improving tradition of improving the way d. O. D. Buys everything from Office Support services, spare parts and the buying of new technologies and next Generation Research products. Im pleased that we have taken positive steps to strengthen our contracting and Program Management work forces, and support secretary carters efforts to reach out to innovative Silicon Valley companies and other hightech Small Businesses. I am glad that we are building on the considerable and successful efforts that under secretary Frank Kendall has taken to control costs and improve delivery times of our major Weapons Systems through his active management and leadership which have resulted in a very successful series of better buying power procurement reforms. Consistent with those efforts, we have taken steps to improve our ability to estimate costs of new Weapons Systems, especially the cost to maintain them in the field or at sea. Sometimes for decades. And to delay the bureaucracy and untangle the red tape that the Pentagon Acquisition process has sometimes been very much weighted down by. We can use better data and better analysis to make better decisions on what we acquire and how we maintain it. I want to note that i believe there are few provisions where a continued dialogue with the pentagon can improve our bill and make sure we achieve our shared goal, delivering the best and most modern systems to our forces while protecting taxpayer money in the most responsible manner possible. I hope we can Work Together to reexamine and refine a few provisions of the bill to that end. For example, i am concerned that we overly limit the flexibility of d. O. D. To use all available contract types to best balance the needs of government and industry. Im pleased that the bill before us is very supportive of the scientist, engineers and other technical innovators and organizations like the department of defense and in laboratories, d. O. D. Laboratories across the nation. We fully fund the president s request for science and Technology Research programs, including the university of Research Programs that are the foundation of almost all military and commercial technology. We also fully fund the important work and Strategic Capabilities Office both of which are working to develop the next generation systems that will dominate the btlefields of future battlefields of the future on the ground, on the sea, under the sea, in space, and in cyber space. We also take important steps to ensure that d. O. D. Can better compete with the private sector for a limited and shrinking pool of world class technical talent. Im pleased to see we have given the d. O. D. Labs and doppler tools to hire the best scientists and engineers through faster hiring processes and special pay authorities. We also have taken steps to cut the red tape that often ties up these organizations and keeps them from achieving their full innovative potential as well as to allow the labs to more easily build and maintain modern Research Equipment and laboratory facilities. One of the major challenges nationing d. O. D. Is the difficulty in moving a large and Diverse Organization to a new and more efficient Business Practices. I am pleased that the bill provides a number of authorities and pilot programs that will allow the department to explore new Business Practices and best commercial practices which will hopefully drive down costs and reduce the bureaucratic burdens on the military. For example, we pushed for the department to make more use ever the burgeoning field of big data and Data Analytics so that it can collect and use information data in a much more sophisticated way, to improve d. O. D. Management, Human Resources and acquisition practices. Big data techniques are changing the way the commercial sector markets its product, manufactures and manages supply change and lodgessistics logistics. It is even changing the way people manage sports teams. We would like to see similar techniques and technological advances that will improve the sufficiency of the pentagon and its processes. We think a major step in this bill to redesignate the position of the under secretary for Acquisition Technology and logistics as the ukd secretary for research and engineering. I understand and support the chairmans intent to make sure that innovation, research and technology are at the forefront of the pentagon thinking. We all know that we are now in a world where the pentagon can no longer corner the market on the best people or the best new technologies. Our foreign competitors are closing the gap on our battlefield tech lodges cal superiority and global commercial new systems and technologies in areas like cyber security, biotechnology, aerospace and others that are critical to the future of our National Security. I hope the reorganization and realignment steps we take in this bill support d. O. D. s efforts to stay at the leading edge of technological advances. I worry that we may not understand all of the implications of the major changes we are proposing and i hope we can continue to have a robust and open dialogue, including with the pentagon leadership so that we can take these steps in a thoughtful way. Once again, we have taken very bold and very thoughtful steps but i think we could even enhance these steps with a vigorous and productive dialogue. This bill takes several other steps to reform, both the organizational structures of the civilian and military leadership and also the overall approach to the pentagon to its operations. One of the most significant provisions in the bill is the creation of cross functional teams. The office of secretary of defense has organized exclusively along functional lines such as acquisition, personnel, logistics, finance and intelligence but the real work of the department is mission performance, which requires integrated across all the functional stove pipes to achieve specific objectives. This Integration Task has always been a serious challenge, conducted through layers of management, spending more function expanding more functional boundaries ending with the secretary of defense of the Armed Service committee in the years of drafting the gld water nicoles act the comoo he Found Solutions for achieving jointness in a combat operations with the department but the committee was unable at that time to find practical mechanisms to achieve Mission Integration in the office of the secretary of defense. The problem of integrating across silos of functional expertise is not unique to d. O. D. Or the government as a whole. Industry has long struggled with the same problem. Not surprisingly, industry has pioneered effective ways to integrate across their enterprises, dramatically improving outcomes and shorter time frames and ultimately streamlining and flattening organizational structures. This bill is the first major step in applying these concepts systematically in government. It will not be easy. There will be resistance to such changes, but i believe we are taking steps in the right direction. I encourage the leadership of the department of defense to work with congress to make this reform successful. Another important provision is reform of the joingts requirements of oversight counsel which shepherds the joint acquisition process. This bill elevates the vice chairman of the joint chiefs for merely first among equals on the council to the principle advisor to the chairman on military requirements. The committee hopes this change will solve one of the most important and consistent criticisms of the j rock namely it is a quid pro process dominated by parochial service interests. There are other reform subpoenases, changes to the role of the chairman of the joint staff and combatant comantdzs, a reduction in the number of changes to the types of strategy documents produced by the department. Again these reforms are a good start but these are major changes that may have unforeseen consequences. I think they would benefit again from further discussion with the Defense Departments military and civilian leadership and outside experts. And i encourage and look forward to that dialogue. Let me highlight one provision of the bill, though, that i am somewhat concerned with. It limits the Defense Departments ability to implement an important executive order that protects the health, safety and labor rights of veterans, disabled persons and other members of the Defense Industry work force. The executive order is an important tool to ensure that d. O. D. Is working with responsible contractors who are more likely to deliver goods and Services Critical to National Security on time and on budget when they are following these procedures. This order is being implemented in a way that products the rights of all employees while also protects Due Process Rights to the companies concerned and ensuring that theres no discrimination against them based on incomplete evidence of wrongdoing or unsubstantiated allegations. I hope that we can work to continue policy, that i think we can all support, ensuring d. O. D. Is working with responsible contractors to protect our work force and support National Security missions. Finally, i would like to say a few words about funding levels of the defense. The bill reported out of the committee includes 523. 9 billion in dws cretion near spending Discretionary Spending and 58. 9 billion for overseas contingency operations. It also includes 19. 3 million the department of Energy Related activities rutting in a top resulting in a top line funding level of 602 billion for discretionary National Defense spending. While these funding levels adhere to the spending limits mandated by the bipartisan budget act of 2015, concerns have been raised that the Department Requires additional resources. As all members of aware, when the Senate Considered the b. B. A. Last fall, it established the discretionary funding level of defense spending for f. Y. 200017 and that 2017 and furthermore, the b. B. A. Split the increase in dws cretion near spending evenly between the security and nonsecurity categories. As we consider the f. Y. 2017 ndaa, there is likely to be and the chairman has made it clear, an effort to increase the military spending above the level established by the ndaa. It is important to remember since the budget control act was enacted in 2011, we have made repeated incremental changes to the discretionary budget caps to both the defense and nondefense accounts. We have done so in order to provide some budget certainty to the department of defense and also to domestic agency. As the date on debate on this bill continues the chairman has indicated he will propose an amendment to increase spending for dense only defense only. Again on owe it defends increased funding for domestic agencies must also be increased i believe and in addition and this is a point i think all of us acknowledge, our National Security is broader than simply the accounts of the department of defense. Its f. B. I. , department of homeland security. It is many other agencies that contribute to our National Security. Let me conclude once again by thanking the chairman, my colleague on the committee who contributed significantly and thoughtfully to this whole process. I particularly want to thank the staff who worked laboriously and at great personal cost to ensure that we had a bill that we could bring to our colleagues on the floor and stand up and continue a very thoughtful, vigorous, and important dialogue about the National Security of the United States. So let me thank them. I know there are many amendments that have been filed and i look forward to working with the chairman and my colleagues to get this legislation completed and sent fort. With that, mapped sent forward. With that, madam president , i would yield the floor. The presiding officer who yields time . If no one yields time, time will be equally charged to both sides. A senator madam president . The presiding officer the senator from delaware. Mr. Coons are we in a quorum call . The presiding officer we are not in a quorum call. The senator is recognized. Mr. Coons madam president , on this exact date, a half a century ago, thensenator robert f. Kennedy delivered a powerful speech in came town in south africa. South africa, a nation that was then struggling through the cruel injustices of apartheid. It was the conclusion of a remarkable trip to south africa in which Bobby Kennedy visited the Nobel Peace Prizewinning chief luthuli, visited soweto, visited up in johannesburg and spoke with students at the university of cape town. And last week i had the opportunity to help lead a congressional delegation to commemorate Bobby Kennedys historic journey and his famous ripples of hope speech that he delivered in his visit. The trip offered all of us an opportunity to reflect on the parallels between Americas Civil Rights Movement and south africas liberation struggle and to renew the conversation of reconciliation as both countries face legacies that remain both difficult and unresolved. More importantly, madam president , as south africa and the United States face serious challenges to the very institutions that underpin and preserve our democracies, this trip served as a reminder that while our Constitutional Orders may be supported by courageous and printed leaders through critical moments in our history, nations dont endure because of a few charismatic and historic individuals. They endure because of institutions. I was honored to be joined on this trip by a Bipartisan Group of colleagues from the house of representatives including, most importantly, congressman john lewis of georgia, a hero of americas own Civil Rights Movement and democratic whip steny hoyer of maryland and five others. There was also a ripples of hope delegation that traveled alongside us that included r. F. K. s children Carrie Kennedy and rory kennedy. Carrie is now president of the r. F. K. Human rights foundation, and more than a dozen members of the Kennedy Family of several generations, as well as the leaders and some members of the faith in politics institute. It is faith in politics that annually organizes under the leadership of congressman john lewis the civil rights pilgrimage of members of congress, republican and democrat, house and senate, who retrace the steps of the famous selma march which he helped lead as well as the pivotal events of both montgomery and birmingham at the height of the american Civil Rights Movement. So these three organizations together, faith in politics institute, the r. F. K. Foundation and the congressional delegation, met up together in south africa. At the time of Bobby Kennedys visit 50 years ago, south africa was deep in the throes of apartheid, with a Liberation Movement that had been decapitated in the lilys leaf raid of 1963 and pushed far underground. Black South Africans at that point lived in fear and their leaders were either imprisoned or in exile, and the nashua party and the South AfricanSecurity Forces controlled nearly every state institution. As it was described, nowhere was injustice more stark or the prospect for change bleaker than in south africa in 1966. R. F. K. Would later write about what he called the dilemma of south africa, a land of enormous promise and potential, aspiration and achievement, yet also a land of repression and sadness, darkness and cruelty as of 1966. To put it plainly and simply, apartheid was a brutal form of racial subjugation. In the midst of an environment in which White Supremacy was codified by law and most antiapartheid leaders and stalwarts were imprisoned or on the run, Bobby Kennedy was invited to give the university of cape towns day of affirmation address. Kennedy began his speech at jamieson hall, describing, and i quote, a land in which the native inhabitants were at first subdued but relations remain a problem to this day, a land which defined itself on a hostile frontier, a land which once was the importer of slaves and now must struggle to wipe out the last traces of that former bondage. R. F. K. Then paused before concluding, i refer, of course, to the United States of america. As you listen to the audio recording of his speech, you can then hear a ripple of recognition and applause that kennedy, who many thought was introducing his speech about south africa, was instead recognizing the remarkable parallels between our two nations. As kennedy spoke to a large crowd that had waited in the cold for hours, he made it clear with his opening that he came not to preach to the people of south africa from our supposed position of superiority due to the leapt of our democratic experiment, but to share and to learn from our common legacies and challenges. Then and now, the differences between the United States and south affect are profound and real. Yet americans and South Africans do share more than we might widely recognize. We have similar stories to tell and we have many lessons that we can and should learn from each other. Today more than 20 years after the end of part tied heart hide, south africas postapartheid democracy is struggling to deliver on its promise of ambitious founding principles and to transform its economy to generate opportunity for all its citizens. Meanwhile, here in the United States, we are mired in dysfunctional politics and Many Americans justifiably feel that we have failed to make even modest progress on the economic and social challenges that we face. Our countries also share a deeply embedded history of Racial Discrimination and division from which we have not yet healed, a shared struggle exemplified by the fact that 50 years ago during kennedys trip to south africa, American Civil Rights activist James Meredith was shot by a white gunman while he marched for Voting Rights in mississippi. We share complex histories of struggles balancing the role of violence and nonviolence in seeking justice and equality under the law. We share today flawed criminal Justice Systems that disproportionately punish our citizens of color, and we share sadly imperfect Education Systems that dont do enough to support them. But and we also continue to share today a struggle to find the most appropriate way to welcome and incorporate literally millions of undocumented immigrants and to prevent the tensions associated with xenophobia, something we have seen both here in the United States today and we also heard about in south africa last week. Yet despite our common shortcomings, we share remarkable constitutions and inspiring foundational documents, south africas freedom charter and our own declaration of independence whose soaring principles say powerful and inspiring things but whose lived experiences have so far fallen short. We also share a powerful commitment to democracy, framed by these strong original documents, respect for the rule of law and capable and independent judiciaries. Institutions created and sustained by the work of many over hundreds of years, but where we share also a striking foundational moment, our president George Washington and their president Nelson Mandela, both as founding president s stepped down from their offices willingly and set powerful precedents of respect for constitutions and term limits. We also share the fact that we are deeply religious nations across all racial backgrounds and all income levels, both south africa and the United States have deep and long traditions of faith and religion which have powerfully influenced our public lives. These of course are traditions which were at times in the past twisted into justifications for prejudice and Racial Discrimination, but which also served as guiding lights for the nonviolent efforts to achieve justice and reconciliation. If you think about it, these shared faith traditions have inspired some of our most powerful leaders. Congressman john lewis who was with us on this trip who was himself beaten, bloodied and arrested 40 times in the streets of the south fighting for equality under the law, which led the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and who as the leader of the march on selma in 1966 encountered state troopers armed with guns and tear gas and clubs wrapped in barbed wire as he crossed the Edmond Pettis bridge and simply said before the onslaught that later became known as bloody sunday quote let us pray. We all remember that reverend dr. Martin luther king jr. Was the most important leader of the movement, the baptist preacher who when imprisoned in a birmingham jail wrote that Human Progress never wheels in on ability. It comes from the tireless efforts of men willing to be coworkers with god. Similarly in south africa, some of their most important leaders were clergymen and one of the most moving moments for me in our trip was the chance to revisit a fellowship i have shared with Archbishop Desmond tutu for whom i worked briefly 30 years ago. Tutu, the anglican bishop who let the south Africa Council of churches and fought for decades against apartheid, who was lifted up and recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize back in 1984 and many years later would receive the president ial medal of freedom here in the United States and who ultimately chaired the postapartheid truth in Reconciliation Commission which engaged in the very hard work of convening whole committees of both those who committed the atrocities of apartheid and their victims in a disciplined, constitutionally created nationwide effort at reconciliation, it was Archbishop Desmond tutu who wrote hate has no place in the house of god. Madam president , in both the United States and south africa, the language used to challenge unjust structures and actions of the government in Civil Society at the time were rooted in biblically based questions of justice and righteousness and made possible National Conversations about forgiveness and reconciliation. Some of the most striking and powerful witnesses offered quietly on the sides of our journey were from two americans who were participants in the faith and politics civil rights pilgrimage this year in charleston, south carolina. They were survivors of the horrible events at the emmanuel a. M. E. Church in charleston, a tragedy in which relatives and friends were savagely murdered during a bible reflection prayer session, a tragedy from which two survivors, felicia and polly, traveled with us to south africa last week with the kennedy delegation. It was many of those who survived that tragic event in charleston, south carolina, who just a few days later in confronting the gunman were able and willing out of the depths of their faith to say publicly we have no room for hate. We have to forgive. And i will remind you that one of the things that is most impressive about congressman john lewis, from his own experience in our Civil Rights Movement, was his ability to reconcile and forgive. Decades after a member of the ku klux klan beat john lewis and many other freedom riders in the summer of 1961, the nowUnited States congressman john lewis welcomed a klansman who had actually beaten him decades before to his office here in washington and said, as he has repeated many times on our civil rights pilgrimage, i accept your apology and i forgive you. One of the most striking aspects of Nelson Mandelas leadership as the first president of a truly free nonracial south africa was his own capacity for forgiveness. 20 years after he was released from prison, an imprisonment that lasted 27 years and robbed him of his opportunity to be a free man, to see his own children grow up, to be a contributing part of his society, an apartheid imprisonment that took away his virtually entire adult life. 20 years after his release from prison, mandela invited to dinner at his own home one of his former jailers, a man with whom he had become friends, saying that their friendship reinforced, and i quote, reinforced my belief in the essential humanity of even those who kept me behind bars, close quote. Think about the depths of that forgiveness as our own forgiveness. As our own president obama has put it, referring to mandela by his familiar name, it took a man like mediva to free not just the prisoner but the jailer as well. It is individuals like john lewis and Nelson Mandela who set the example of healing, forgiveness and reconciliation that may ultimately allow us to move forward from our foundational sins of slavery and discrimination, and it is the powerful witness of those from south carolina, from the emmanuel a. M. E. Church who have challenged us anew in an era of black lives matter concerns and protests to redouble our efforts to achieve real rependance by those who repentance by those who weigh violence against our racial minorities in the United States and those who still need reconciliation and forgiveness. Last week our congressional delegation had a chance and good evening right now were going to our chief meteorologist we have reports of a Tornado Warning inflight work county spinnaker Tornado Warning in effect for Flagler County is a fastmoving cell. Le looking at storm trackers 13 Doppler Radar the stormto see itself moving off to the northeast fairly quickly at 30 m. P. H. This is sitting there i will see if we can see what we are looking like. A cber was what were getting into the storm itself. If your at Flagler Beach on the palm coast should look out for this one as it moves off. It would take the strongest part of the storm at this point in moving off fairly quickly. As as a matter of fact that the current rain it may be their character as it is moving very quickly purposes and association with the ardor behans then we talk about the potential of isolated tornadic activity. I am not sure why my velocity is not coming up but i will get this working for you. I will try this. Well have a couple of areas were watching even on the selfie side of for layabout early and by a man who talked with us about his experience on Robbins Island about how they maintained discipline as they coped with year after year of brutal conditions and hard prison labor. One of the most striking things for mean was to hear from this man, mr. Cathrata, the absence of bitterness, absence of vitriol after his life was marred by the apartheid regime. It wasnt just members of our delegation who had an opportunity to learn from these conversations, it was also many South Africans who had an opportunity to hear from our congressman john lewis as he spoke passionately in johannesburg and cape town about his experience in our Civil Rights Movement. It was uplifting to see him mobbed afterwards by young South Africans everywhere he went who wanted to meet with him, hear from him, take pictures with him and reflect once again on the constructive legacy of our two nations. As we look back at 50 years, we see from the struggles of people like john lewis and Nelson Mandela that while progress is possible, r. F. K. s observation that quote humanity sometimes progresses very slowly remains true. Today in south africa over half the black population lives in poverty compared to less than 1 of the white population. Average annual Household Income is over 25,000 for White South Africans yet barely 4,000 for blacks. South africas Unemployment Rate is 7 for whites and over 30 for whites and much higher in the townships and for younger South Africans. Even when black students make it to south africas universities like the university of cape town they are much less likely to graduate. I have many more statistics i could quote, but by important measures, inequality between whites and blacks has increased since apartheid in south africa. These disparities are not unique to south africa. A Pew Research Study found in 2013 in the United States, white households had a median worth 13 times greater than that of our africanamerican households. The largest discrepancy in decades in our country. And our department of education found that compared to white students, black students in america are far less likely to have access to preschool, advanced high school courses, are much more likely to be suspended and much less likely to complete college. These divides extend to our legal system. On average black men in america receive sentences 20 longer than white men who commit identical crimes. Delaware is 22 black yet two thirds of our prison population is africanamerican. Behind all these challenging and difficult statistics lies the very real challenge of how to be true to our foundational values and yet find a path forward that creates both growth and empowerment, opportunity and progress for the peoples of both our countries. By any measure, we have more work to do. Echoing the words of congressman lewis we have come a great distance but we have at great distance farther to go. Madam president , in that june 6 address 50 years ago, Bobby Kennedy described the plane that brought him to south africa from which we could see no National Boundaries or walls dividing people from people. Today globalization has proven that the boundaries between us and them, whether by race or religion, party or nationality are indeed what r. F. K. Called them, illusions of differences. Still we need to find the courage and the strength to tackle these problems, to not fall victim to the forces of apathy and complacency. We Must Find Solutions that work for each country in its own context. Exactly 50 years ago today, madam president , Bobby Kennedy told South African few will have the greatness to bend history but each of us can work to change a small portion of the events and then the total of all these acts will be written in the history of this generation. That in some ways was the enduring power of his best known quote from that speech about how each man, each individual man or woman who stands up for an ideal acts to improve the lots of others or strikes out against injustice sends forth a tiny ripple of hope. And all those ripples in combination can form a wall of water which knocks down even the greatest of impediments to progress and justice such as the walls of apartheid. Madam president , it was these very ripples that sent forth hope to all South Africans in 1966 when Bobby Kennedy spoke. It was these ripples that sustained mandelas struggle over decades and that prompted the son of an african imprint to america i am immigrant to america to take his first steps that brought him to presidency today. The it was the commitment to equality and justice that led me 30 years ago to travel to south africa and work for the council of churches there under the tutelage of reverend paul vereen and Archbishop Desmond taoup taou. It was the same experience reflected in desmond tutus phrase, an african idea that as president obama put it we are all bound together in ways visible to the eye that there is a oneness to humanity. I met a remarkable range of men and women, young and old, leaders of this generation and the last in south africa in this past week and was reminded in all of our conversations on Robbins Island, lilys leaf and with entrepreneurs in soweto, with Business Leaders trying to create opportunity, with those from every background in south africa that all of these men and women have fought that fight, sending forth ripples of hope that brought the mighty walls of apartheid crashing down and that have to continue to be part of this progress today in going forward. Bobby kennedys visit 50 years ago played a Critical Role in changing the tone and tempo of the antiapartheid struggle at the time. Margaret marshal, a Student Activist then in south africa recalled at the time of his visit in 1966, quote the world seemed to ignore us but Bobby Kennedy was different. He reminded us we were not alone, we were part of the the tradition, the reaffirmation of nobility and value in every person. We felt alienated. It felt what i was doing was small and meaningless and he put us back into the great sweep of history. Last week speaking at that same university at which her father provided this vital infusion of optimism a half century ago, Kerry Kennedy told us these ripples of hope didnt have to come from governments or military or corporations. They could come from anyone anywhere from seemingly average people as was the case with Margaret Marshal five decades ago. Today they come from us, from the citizens we represent across this nation and the people struggling across south africa to find together a better and brighter future. In the months and years to come the United States and south africa can and should look to each other for lessons and inspirations as we continue to work to heal the damage of racial injustice, to reverse the trends of economic inequality and to protect our experiments in democracy. As south africa prepares for upcoming elections, municipal elections in august and as we prepare for our own National Elections in november, both nations are entering periods in our electoral history where institutions of democracy and governance are being challenged. Today south africa is showing just how important to the sustainment of democracy it is to have not just charismatic or world, historical or forgiving heads of states or individuals leading churches but also a very strong public protector, independent judiciary, vibrant media and engaged electorate. In america and south africa, i believe our institutions will protect and preserve our democracies. These institutions must be of course inspired, led by courageous and principled individuals like senator kennedy, like congressman lewis, like president mandela. But, madam president , nations dont endure because of individuals. Nations must endure because of strong institutions. Two months after he returned to the United States, kennedy reflected on his speech of 50 years ago today and said quote i acknowledge the United States like other countries still had far to go to keep the promises of our constitution. What was important he said was in a we were trying. And in 1991, when president mandela came here to speak, he told an american audience, im not a saint. Unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying. The people of the United States must keep trying to be true to our foundational values and documents, and the people of south africa must as well. We must all keep on trying, as president obama said, because action and ideas are not enough. No matter how right, they must be chiseled into law and institutions that will endure. We have a lot of trying left to do. And, madam president , from last week i concluded we have much to learn from each other and much to teach the rest of the world. So let us rededicate ourselves, 50 years after Bobby Kennedys speech gave hope to south africa and the world to facing these challenges together. Thank you, madam president. I yield the floor. And suggest the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call a senator madam president . The presiding officer the senator from delaware. Mr. Coons i ask proceedings under the quorum call be vitiated. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Coons i ask unanimous consent that kimberly naxted be granted floor privileges for the remainder of this congress. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Coons thank you, madam president. And with that, i yield the floor. A senator madam president . P. The presiding officer the senator from North Carolina. Mr. Tillis i ask unanimous consent that Elizabeth Joseph the help policy fellow in the office of senator cochran, be granted privileges of the floor for the remainder of the 114th congress. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Tillis i ask unanimous consent that bo die yers and Lawrence Finch in the offices of senator cotton be granted consideration of of the floor during consideration of senate bill 2943, the National Defense authorization act. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Tillis thank you, madam president. Madam president , im here today to talk about a very important event in american history. 72 years ago today six american and four british and canadian divisions began the assault on adolf hitlers fortress europe on what german filled marshal ramal referred to as the longest day. As the paratroopers moved to their planes and infantry men embarked on their ships Dwight Eisenhower said youre about to embark on the great crusade toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of libertyloving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave allies and brothers in arms on other fronts you will bring about the destruction of the german war machine, the elimination of nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of europe and security for ourselves and a free world. North carolina was in normandy on that day. At 1 51 a. M. , fort braggs 82 Airborne Division p under the command of general ridgeway and Brigadier General gavin began the fight. The paratroopers of the all American Division were scattered by bad weather and german antiaircraft fire. Missing many of their designated drop zones. Within hours through sheer guts and determination the allAmerican Division captured towns and crossroads and ensured that the counter attack did not reach normandy beaches allowing allied infantry to push into the heart of germanyoccupied france. The 82nd airborne finished the war as the most decorated combat unit in the history of the United States, a distinction it holds today. The invasion fixed omaha and utah beaches for assault. Bloody omaha was the most difficult of the landing beaches dupe to the rough terrain and bluffs fortified by the Infantry Division. Omaha was hit by the 1st and 29th Infantry Divisions. The 29th was the National Guard unit composed of men from North Carolina, virginia and maryland. In the first wave, a Company First battalion 116th infantry from the virginia National Guard in bedford, virginia, was annihilated as it landed. The catastrophic losses suffered by the Community Led it to be selected as the National Dday memorial. Losses were so heavily i have, that general omar bradley considered pulling forces from omaha beach. However, follow john units reached that beach, as immortalized in the movie saving private ryan. By nightfall, the Division Headquarters and 10,000 reinforcements landed and began fighting inland. On omaha beach, uncommon valor was quite common that day. By the evening of june 6, over 1,000 men from the 29th had become casualties on omaha beach. Added to losses at other beaches and drop zones made the total casualties for Operation Overlord 6,500 americans and 3,000 british and canadian soldiers. During worl world war ii, the 2h Infantry Division had such a high casualty rate, it was said that its commanding general actually commanded three divisions, one on the field of battle, one in the hospital, and one in the cemetery. The 29th Infantry Division lost 3,720 killed in action, 15,403 wounded in action, 462 missing in action, 526 prisoners of war, and another 8,665 noncombat casualties for a total of 28,776 cass iewltds during the casualties during the 46 days of combat. Today thousands of north carolinian guardsmen continue the brave tradition of this proud unit. The people of North Carolina remember the soldiers of dday and their comrades for their battlefields at the war. On the Cape Fear River sits the u. S. S. North carolina, the most decorated battleship of world war ii. Its not a museum. Its a reminder. Its our memorial. The names of over 10,000 north carolinians who paid the ultimate price are set on the walls of that great ship. In Franklin Roosevelts words, they fought not for the lust of conquest. They fought to end conquest. They fought to liberate. Madam president , as we observe dday, i hope we all recognize the ultimate sacrifice so many men and women have put in uniform and on the week that we consider the National Defense authorization, i hope all of my colleagues will recognize the incredible importance and the debt that we owe them to doing our job here so that they can continue to defend us abroad, and weve got to do everything we can to get them safe and prepared and ready to do that mission. Thank you, madam president. I yield the floor. A senator mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from ohio. Mr. Portman madam president , i didnt know that my colleague from North Carolina was going to come to the floor this evening to talk about dday. Thats what im going to talk about, too, and itd id like to falon his comments to congratulate him for a terrific job of explaining the importance of this day, not just to our country but to the world, a dhai america a day that america truly began the li liberation of giewrp, and also for his description of the North Carolina brave soldiers who lost their lives that day. It was 72 years ago this morning when the invasion began. And it was a day in which there was a lot of concern and anxiety, people knew this was going to be a major conflict. To ronald reagan, some 40 years later spoke at pt. Tohauk, and he made the point that every church in america was filled up that morning. By 4 00 that morning people were praying all over the country knowing that this was going to be a very, very difficult battle. It was the largest Amphibious Assault in the history of the world. 150,000 allied troops were involved. As my friend from North Carolina has indicated, we lost over 10,000 troops that day, most of whom were americans. There were 100,000 there were 10,000 aircraft involved as well and 6,000 ships. There was a thought that day that frankli Franklin Delano vot would give a speech, as did he many times before, called a fireside chat from the white house talking about the invasion and helping the American People to understand the importance of that day. But he decided to do Something Else instead. He decided instead of giving a speech to recite a prayer, and that prayer has become known as the dday prayer. It is a very powerful statement. About two years ago on this day, which was the 70th anniversary, we passed legislation here in the United States senate to actually ensure that that prayer would be part of the world war ii memorial, and were now going through the process to have that included in the world war ii memorial so that all americans today, the children and grandchildren of those world war ii veterans and heroes, as they come to washington are able to see this prayer that Franklin Delano roosevelt said that day. I would like to read these words that were spoken 72 years ago by president roosevelt, if i might. He said, and i quote, my fellow americans, last night when i spoke with you, i knew at that moment that the troops of the United States and our allies were crossing the chang l in another and yet greater operation. It has come to pass with success thus far and so in this poignant hour i ask you to join with me in prayer. Almighty god, our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our republic, our religion and our civilization and to set free a suffering humanity. Lead them straight and triewrks give strength to their arms, stout no, sir they are hearts, steadfast no, sir they are faith. They will need thy blessings, the road will be long and hard who are the enemy is strong, he may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed but we shall return again and again, and we know at that by thy grace and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph. They will be sore tired by night and by day without rest until the victory is won, the dark necessary will be rent by noise and flame, mens souls will be shakening with the violences of war. For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They might not for the lust of conquestion. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate. They fight to let justice arise and tolerance and good will among all thy people. They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home. So many some will some will never rurchlt embrace theerks father. Receive them as heroic servants into kingdom. For those of us at home, sons and daughters, help you almighty god to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in this great hour of sacrifice. Many people have earthed urged that i call the nation a single day of special prayer but because the road is long and the desire is grairkts i ask that our people devote themselves in a continuance of prayer as we rise each new day and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lirntion invoking thy help with our efforts. Give us strength, too, strength in our daily task to redouble the contributions we make in the physical and Material Support of our armed forces and let our hearts be stout to wait out the long travail, to bear sorrows that may come, to impart our courage onto our sons, where so ever they may be, and o lord, give us faith, give us faith in thee, faiths in our sons, faith in each oarings, faith in our united crusade. Let not the keenness of our spirit ever be dulled, let not the impacts of temporary events of temporal malts p fleeting moment, let these not deter us from our incontraable purpose. With thigh blessing, we shall prevail over the forces of ouren mivment help us to concur the apostles of greed and racial arrogances. Leads to the saving fl our country with our cities tear nations into a world unity that will spell a sure packers a peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy mend and a peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the justice reward of their honest toil. Thy will be dorntion almighty god. Amen. That was the prayer that he spoke on dday. What a powerful moment. On this day, 72 years later, we remember the bravery and the sacrifice of dday. We remember the fact that this was the beginning of a liberation of europe and indeed as president roosevelt predicted, we would ultimately prevail, despite great losses. And let also today as we talking on the floor this evening and tomorrow and through the week about our defense forces, remember the importance of this prayer as it talks about the need for us to enwe do have the Strong Military and we support those in the military forces as we tank the Defense Authorization legislation. Madam chairwoman, i ask that my full statement be made part of the record. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Portman i fort time. I yield back. Madam chairwoman, i note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call mr. Moran madam president , i ask that the quorum call be lifted. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Moran i yield back the time. The presiding officer all time is expired. Question occurs on amendment 4206. The presiding officer is there a sufficient second . There appears to be. The clerk will call the roll. Vote vote vote vote ca vote the presiding officer have all the senators voted . On this vote, the yeas 91. The nays are zero. Amendment is agreed to. The senator from arizona. Mr. Mccain were snil a quorum call . The presiding officer the senate is not in a quorum call. Mr. Mccain i call up my amendment 4229. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk mr. Mccain proposes amendment numbered 4229. Mr. Mccain i ask that the reading be waived. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Toomey mr. President . The presiding officer will the senator withhold his suggestion . The senator from pennsylvania is recognized. Mr. Toomey thank you very much, mr. President. Mr. President , i rise today to speak about the National Defense authorization act which will be which well be processing this week i hope. But in particular i want to talk about a section 578, section 578 is a provision designed to protect the children of our Service Members. And specifically to protect them when they are at school from convicted pedophiles and other dangerous felons. This is an issue i have been working on for two and a half years, mr. President. My involvement resulted from learning about a horrific story that is about a little boy named jeremy bell. The story begins at a school in Delaware County in southeastern pennsylvania, a schoolteacher there had molested several boys, had raped one, and when the School Officials and the local Law Enforcement figured out that something very, very wrong was going on, they unfortunately concluded that they just didnt have enough evidence, they didnt have a strong case they could bring against this teacher. So the school wanted to get rid of him and tragically they were okay with letting him become someone elses problem. So they wrote a letter of recommendation which with the understanding that he would leave. This monster took the letter of recommendation, went across the state line to west virginia, got hired as a teacher, and several years later he had become principal. Of course, these people dont change their ways and he didnt. He continued to molest and attack little boys. It ended when he raped and killed a 12yearold boy named jeremy bell in west virginia. That time, mr. President , justice caught up with this teacher. Hes now serving a life sentence in jail for that murder, but of course its too late for jeremy bell. And tragically, jeremy bell is not alone. Since joe manchin and i first began this effort in this chamber two and a half years ago, at least 1,050 School Employees have been arrested across the country for Sexual Misconduct of kids they are supposed to be caring for, supposed to be teaching. 1150, thats more than one a day. Of course, those are the ones where the officials new enough to feel confident that they could make an arrest and actually press charges. How many more. How many more cases are actually happening . And i would stress that these arent just numbers. Every one of these 1,150 arrests represents just horrific tragedies. In many cases more than one. Consider a few examples from my state of pennsylvania. Just this past january, the parents of children at Trinity High School in washington county, they learned something absolutely horrific. They learned that a special Education Teacher there was charged with raping a little girl over a 15year period starting when she was just 3 years old and they didnt discover this till she was 18. He had raped another little girl who ways only 6. Or consider the phoenixville area in Chester County in november 2013, the schools principal was sentenced to come years in prison for having child pornography. A month later a special education and math teacher at the school was arrested for possessing child pornography, some involving very, very young children. Mr. President , its hard to even talk about these things. Its very uncomfortable to hear about this, to talk about this, but we cant shy away from this. If we think its uncomfortable to think about it and to talk about it and hear about it, what about the experience for the child . The childs family . Every day it seems theres a new story. In pittsburgh, plumm high school, two teachers have pled guilty to having sex with younger students. The third one is awaiting trial on related charges. The d. A. Is investigating allegations that the School Superintendent and principal might have ignored reports of abuse along the way. And another teacher has been charged with witness intimidation. He made one of the victims, a girl whos a victim, stand up in front of the class and he mocked her because she brought the issue to the attention of the authorities. This is outrageous. This has to stop. And i have vowed that im going to do everything i can to try to provide greater security to our kids in our schools. Now, this past december we took a big step in the right direction, in my view, mr. President , Congress Passed legislation and president obama signed it into law. It was legislation in the broader Education Bill that we passed that had my legislation that now explicitly prohibits, forbids, knowingly recommending one of these monsters for hire. So exactly the circumstances that gave rise to the murder of jeremy bell where a school knows they have a pedophile, they discover it, and they still send along a letter of recommendation so that he can become someone elses problem, that is now thats now illegal as well it should be. Its not as rare as you might think. In fact the practice is so common, its well understood in the circles of child advocates and the people who prosecute these crimes and who defend children when theyve been victimized by these crimes, its so common that it even has its own name. Its called passing the trash. But unfortunately when we got that piece of our legislation passed, we were not successful in persuading all of our colleagues that we also had to have another element to this, to really keep our kids safe, we need to make sure weve got a rigorous background check, that people arent able to skirt and we know that that does happen. So i promise that i would be back on the senate floor to try to address this weakness, it loophole, the fact that we dont have consistently rigorous background checks to make sure that were not hiring these creeps in the first place. Well, i am very happy to announce today that we, i think, are very close to taking another step forward. In this legislation, thanks to chairman mccain who just left the floor, but the senior senator from arizona, the chairman of the Armed ServicesCommittee Incorporated into this legislation, the National Defense authorization bill, the bill that i introduced to protect our Service Members children. Thats what its called. Its called protect our Service Members children act. Simply states a School District that accepts impact money and you know thats the funding that we approve here in congress, runs through our Defense Department, and it goes to the School Districts that are educating the children of our Service Members when they are on a base. Simply what our legislation does, it says such a School District has to have a safe environment for kids. Thats all. Got to have a policy requiring criminal background checks for all the school workers, any adults who have unsupervised contact with children. And if a person applies for a job with such a school and it turns out that they have been convicted, not alleged but convicted of a serious crime, including murder, rape, or any violent or sexual crime against children, then such a person may not be employed at a school in a capacity where they would have unsupervised access to children. So as i say, this applies only to those School Districts that receive impact aid, that is to say those School Districts that receive money to help compensate them for the fact that they are educating our military families children. Its about 17 of americas School Districts receive this impact aid. Its roughly eight and a half million kids. The legislation also applies to the d. O. D. Operated schools. So the Defense Department operates its own schools to educate the children of our military personnel to the credit of the Defense Department, it is already their own internal policy to require these appropriate background checks that are rigorous enough to make sure that we stop a violent predator from being hired in this capacity, but because its just internal policy, it could change. Enforcement could lapse. So what our legislation does is it codifies it. It says this is the right thing to do. Lets codify it. And since it is the right thing to do and were doing it at our didnt o. D. Schools, lets at our d. O. D. Schools, lets do it at the other schools that are educating our military families kids. I dont think it should be controversial. Pennsylvanians that i talked to, they dont think this is controversial. They think we should of course insist that our schools are at least as safe an environment as we can make them. And while the men and women are providing the enormous service to all of us, the sacrifice they make by wearing the uniform, committing to serving in our armed forces, dont we owe it to them to provide the level of protection that we can provide to their kids . I think we do. And in addition, it shouldnt be controversial because substantively, this isnt anything new. Last year, every member of congress but one, the vote was 5231. The house and the Senate Passed almost identical background check legislation with respect to day care workers at that worked for a day care that got funding through the Child Care Development block care program. We agreed, one dissenting vote. Every other senator and house member on both sides of the aisle agreed that this level of background check security ought to be provided for very young kids. Why wouldnt we do it for slightly older kids, the kids who are in primary and secondary schools as well . So despite that, mr. President , there is opposition. Theres opposition just last week. The senior senator from illinois came to the house floor to criticize my legislation. He stated and i quote this provision fails to provide adequate due process and civil rights. I couldnt disagree more. First of all, its important to note our legislation, the legislation that forbids the hiring of these pedophiles, people who have committed these terrible crimes against kids, it applies only if the applicant has been convicted of a crime. If youve been alleged or rumored to, thats not what the legislation contemplates ch its only someone. Its only someone who mass been convicted. Has been convicted. Our Justice System is loaded with Due Process Rights. In order to get a conviction, we have very elaborate processes that someone can avail themselves of, and of course they always do. So nobodys been convicted without having had the opportunity for all of us to pay for their lawyer to defend them, for instance, if they need to, to have a jury trial if they want to do that. All the civil rights guaranteed throughout the constitution, its all there. So due process, theyve already had enormous due process or they couldnt have been convicted. But our legislation goes even a step beyond that. What we do is we say that the applicant is entitled to a copy of the background check so they get full disclosure of whatever was discovered and the School District must have an appeals process if the applicant if it turns out the applicant is denied. Because we acknowledge its conceivable that there could be a mistake, right . It could be like the wrong john smith whos applying for a job at a school. There could be an error of some sort. So in the first place, you have to have been convicted and in the second place, you get to appeal this. What more due process is necessary than that . What more well, i can tell you because weve had this debate before and some on the other side have suggested that they want something that i dont even think qualifies as due process. Its a totally different category but they call it due process. They want a little mini trial. They want to give the convicted pedophile the opportunity to make the case for why an exception should be made in his case. Its unbelievable to me. How do i know . I know this because last year there were 39 special Interest Groups sent a letter to the u. S. Senate asserting that its just unfair to ennye even a con deny even a convicted child molester a teaching job. They wrote this. Im going to quote from the letter briefly. It says and i quote, we believe individuals that have been convicted of crimes and cleated their sentence should not be unnecessarily subjected to additional punishments because of these convictions. So lets think about what theyre saying here. The logic is what theyre explicitly saying is a person could be convicted a person could admit to and be convicted of raping a child, serve a sentence, walk out of the prison, go down the road to the local Elementary School and apply for being a teacher and they should be hired. Thats unbelievable to me. Im not suggesting that the pedophile should never be eligible to do any work at all, never have any job. Thats not what im saying. But how about we keep him away from young kids . Is that really unreasonable . Thats all were asking for. Thats what were sighing. Now, saying. Weve got other colleagues who object to this notion, this legislative approach on the grounds it offends their sense of federalism. They think that we should leave it to the states to decide whether or not and to what extent the states and School Districts will protect kids from predators. Well, i strongly disagree with that for many reasons. We might well have an extended debate about that but let me give two brief ones. First of all, i think we have an oversight responsibility. I think the pennsylvanians who send me here and know that im casting votes on how were going to spend their tax dollars expect that im providing some kind of oversight such that, for instance, their tax dollars arent used to hire a pedophile in a school. You would think that would not be a controversial notion with my constituents. But the second thing is, you know, the folks who are hung up on the federalism issue, they insist every state is free to do what they want to do they have to be able to pass whatever laws or not as they see fit. What about the military family that cant determine which state . They dont get the pick the state theyre based in, not always. Theyre in a state thats not their native state. They are assigned to that base in a particular state and they have to live with whatever the laws are there. Dont we agree that every child in america deserves to have protection from these predators . I do. Now, our legislation doesnt go that far. I wish it did. We tried. Im not going to give up, but cant we at least provide that security for the children of our military families . Thats what our legislation does do. Again, i want to thank chairman mccain. He has been a consistent advocate for providing this level of protection to children. He was a cosponsor of my legislation that prohibited passing the trash. His support was essential in getting it passed last year, and i am really proud and grateful to him to work with me to incorporate the language from my legislation into our ndaa legislation. I would strongly urge my colleagues, mr. President , its past time to act on this. As i said, senator manchin and i have been pushing this for two and a half years. In that time, another 1,150 School Employees have been arrested for Sexual Misconduct with the kids they are supposed to be taking care of. Clearly, were not doing enough. We really need to ask ourselves how much bigger does that number have to get . How many more children have to have their childhood ruined . How many families need to be torn apart before we are willing to take this measure . I would argue weve seen more than enough. The children of america have seen more than enough, and the children of the men and women who wear the uniform of this country, who make the sacrifice to defend and protect all of us absolutely deserve this protection. So i hope we will pass this Defense Authorization bill with this language intact, and i once again want to express my appreciation to the chairman for putting it into the base text, and i yield the floor. Mr. Toomey mr. President . The presiding officer the senator from pennsylvania. Mr. Toomey i note the absence of a quorum. The presiding officer the clerk will call the roll. Quorum call quorum call mr. Mcconnell mr. President . The presiding officer the Senate Majority leader. Mr. Mcconnell i ask unanimous consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell over the weekend, the world learned the sad news of the passing of muhammad ali. He was one of the preeminent athletes of the 20th century. His story was an american story, one that toughed people in every corner of the world. It is one that began in my hometown of louisville. Louisville is where he grew up, where he fought his first professional fight and where the Center Stands today. It as legacy to his life story. It is where mourners now lay flowers in his memory. As people around the world honor the greatest, the spotlight shines bright upon his hometown. I wish go to again add my condolences as well. I wish to again recognize the legend from louisville who was more than just a boxer. He was an icon known for grace on his feet and power in his fists inside the ring, and a great exuberance for life outside it. Now, on the measure before us, after needless and inexplicable delay by colleagues across the aisle, well begin consideration of the National Defense authorization act today and work to pass it this week. The ndaa works on funds aimed for mountaining our National Security posture and supporting defense, health care, and benefits for Service Members and their families. It is an important measure we consider each year. It is especially critical today given the myriad threats facing our country. The next commander in chief regardless of party will take Office Facing a number of security challenges, everything from instability in libya, syria and yemen to a belligerent north korea, to a newly aggressive russia. It is imperative to do what we can now to better position our country to confront challenges currently facing us and to better prepare for those yet to come. Ensuring military readiness and keeping americans safe should be a top priority for all of us. So i would encourage my colleagues to put aside partisan politics and Work Together to bring this ndaa across the finish line this week. We may pass the bill on friday. We may pass it sooner. But well pass it this week. So lets all work hard to do so. I ask unanimous consent the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to executive session to consider en bloc the following nomination calendar number 506 and 507 onlily with no other executive business in order. The presiding officer without objection, the clerk will report. The clerk the judiciary, jennifer cho groves of virginia to be a judge of the United States court of international trade, gary stephen katzman. Mr. Mcconnell i know of no further debate on the nominations. The presiding officer hearings no further debate, the question occurs on the nominations. En bloc. All those in favor say aye. Those opposed . The ayes have it. The nominatio nominations are c. Mr. Mcconnell i ask that the the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table, the president be immediately note fights senates, action and the senate then resume legislative session. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the consideration of s. Res. 484 submitted earlier today. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk Senate Resolution 484, authorizing the taking of a photograph in the senate chamber. The presiding officer is there objection to proceeding to the measure . Without objection. Mr. Mcconnell the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table, with no intervening action or debate. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell mr. President , i ask unanimous consent the president of the senate be authorized to appoint a committee on the part of the senate to join with a Like Committee on the part of the house to escort his excellency narinda modi into the House Chamber for a joint meeting on wednesday, 1 at 11 00 a. M. June 16. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell i ask that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 10 00 a. M. Tuesday, june 7. Following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved that are their use later in the day. Following leader remarks, the senate resume consideration of s. 2943, finally, that the Senate Recess from 12 30 until 2 15toa will you for the weekly to allow for the Weekly Conference meetings. Officer without objection. Mr. Mcconnell if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. The presiding officer the se very important statement. Madam president , its my pleasure to rise with my friend pleasure to rise with my friend president is my pleasure to rise for my friend and colleague from rhode island to speak about the National Defense authorization act for fiscal year 2017. For 54 consecutive Years Congress has passed this vital piece of legislation that provides her military servicemembers with the resources equipment and training that they need to defend the nation. The ndaa is one of the few bills in congress that continues to enjoy bipartisan support year after year. Thats a testament to this legislations critical importance to our national regad security and a high regard with which it is held by the congress. Last month the senate Armed Services committee voted 233, 233 to approve the ndaa an overwhelming vote that reflects the committees proud tradition of bipartisan support for the brave men and women of our armeg forces. I want to thank the committees Ranking Member the senator from rhode island for his months of hard work on the ndaa. Spanish great pleasure to work with him on this legislation and i remained appreciative of a thoughtfulness and bipartisan spirit with which he approachest our National Security. He is a great partner and a great leader. I also want to thank the majority leader the senator from kentucky for his commitment to bring the ndaa to the senate on time and without delay. Its a testimony to his leadership that the senate will once again consider his bill in regular order with an open amendment process. O i am tremendously proud of the senate Armed Service committees work on this legislation. An this years ndaa is the most significant piece of defenseti reform legislation in 30 years. It includes major reforms to the department of defense. It can help our military rise to the challenge of a more dangerous world. Contains the ndaa contains updates to the pentagons organization to privatize innovation and improve the development and execution of defense strategies. The ndaa, the legislation continues sweeping reforms of the defense acquisition system to harness American Innovation and preserve our militaries technological edge. Vide the ndaa modernizes the military Health System to provide military servicemembers retirees and their families with higherquality care, better access to care, better experience of care. The ndaa authorizes a pay raise or our troops and invest in the modern equipment and advanced training they need to make current and future meet current and future threats. It helps restore readiness for 2 billion for additional training and weapons sustainment. And against our allies and partners the support they need to deter aggression and fight terrorists. This is a farreaching piece ofr legislation but there is one challenge we could not address. A dangerous mismatch between growing world wide threats and arbitrary limits on defense spending thats in current law. This mismatch has very real of a consequences for the thousands i of americans who serve in uniform and sacrifice on our behalf all around the nation and the world. Our troops are doing everything we asked of them, but we must ask ourselves, are we doing everything we can for them . The answer i say with profound sadness is we are not. We are not. Since 2011, the budget control act is imposing arbitrary our defense spending and over the last five years as her military has struggled under the threat of sequestration the world has r only grown more complex and far more dangerous. Since 2011 we have seen Russian Forces invade ukraine. The emergence of the socalled Islamic State in its Global Campaign of terrorism increased attempts by i ran to destabilize u. S. Allies and partners in the middle east growing assertive behavior by china and theina s militarization of the south china sea, numerous cyberattacks on u. S. Industry and Government Agencies and further testing bya north korea of Nuclear Technology and other bans military capabilities. Indeed, director of National IntelligenceJames Clapper testified in february that over the course of his distinguishedc five decade career he could not recall a more diverse array of challenges and crises than our nation confronts today. Our military has been forced to confront these growing threats with shrinking resources. T this years Defense Budget is more than 150 billion less than fiscal year 2011. And despite periodic relief from the budget caps that impose these cuts including the bipartisan budget act of last year each of our military services remains underfunded, undersized and im ready to meet current and future threats. In short, as threats grow and the operational demands and our military increase, defense spending in constant dollars ise decreasing. How does that make any sense . The president s Defense Budget request strictly appears to bipartisan budget agreement which is 17 billion less than what the department of defense planned for last year. As a result the military services unfunded requirement totaled nearly 23 billion for the coming fiscal year alone. Dean weil, sequestration threatens to return in 2018, taking away another 100 billion from our military through 2021. This is unacceptable. This is unacceptable. And while the ndaa confirms, conforms to last years budget agreement at present, i filed an amendment to increase defense spending above the current spending caps. This amendment will reverse shortsighted cuts to modernization, restore military readiness and give need and deserve. I do not know whether or not this amendment will succeed but the senate must have this debate and senators, we are going to have to choose a side. At the same time as i have longt believed were fighting for the common defense is not just about a bigger Defense Budget, as necessary as that is. N we must also reform our Nations Defense enterprise to meet threats both today and tomorrow confiden confidence, which they dont have a lot of now that the department of defense is spending their tax dollars efficiently and effectively. That is exactly what this legislation does. The last major reorganization of the department of defense wasma the goldwaternichols act which marks its 30th anniversary this year. Last fall, the senate Armed Services committee had a series of 13 hearings on defense reform we heard from 52 of our nations foremost defense experts and leaders. The goldwaternichols act of 30y years ago responded to the challenges of its time. Our goal was to determine what changes needed to be made to prepare the department of set defense to meet the new set of strategic challenges. As the lead staffer and goldwaternichols testified lase year and that quote no organizational plan lasts forever. A world in which dod must operate his changer manically over the last 30 years. Instead of one great power rivaf the United States now faces a series of transregional, cross functional multidomain and longterm strategicficant complications that pose significant challenge to the organization of the pentagon and the military which is often rigidly aligned around al geography. Put simply, the goldwaternichols act of 30 years ago was about operational effectiveness, improving the ability of the military services to plan and operate together as one joint force. The problem today is strategic integration. How did the department of defense and a great its activities and resources across different regions, functions ana domains while balancing and sustaining those efforts over time . The ndaa required the next secretary of defense to create a series of cross functional Mission Teams to better into great the departments efforts and achieve discrete objectives. For example, one could examine m the Russian Mission team with representatives from policy intelligence acquisition budgetm services and more. There is no mechanism to perform this kind of integration at present. The secretary of the deputy had to do it at hawk which is an unrealistic burden. The idea of cross functional teams have been shown to be tremendously effective in the air and by innovative military leaders such as general stan mcchrystal. If applied effectively in the office of secretary defense i believe this concept could be te every bit as impactful as the goldwaternichols reforms. The ndaa would also require the next secretary to recognize one combatant combat and then command around joint task forces , focused on discrete Operational Missions rather than military services. Here too, the goal is to improve integration across Different Military functions and do soer with far fewer staff than these commands now have. Similarly the legislation seeks to clarify the role of the chairman of the joint chiefs,r focusing on more Strategic Issues while providing the chairman Greater Authority to assist the secretary with a global integration of military operations. The ndaa also seeks to curb the growth of civilian staff and military officers that occurred in recent years. Over the past 30 years, the end strength, thats the total number of members of services, the end strength and the joint force has decreased by 38 . A number of men and women serving in the military has decreased by 38 that the ratio of fourstar officers, thats eric rolls in generals, to the Overall Force has increased by 65 . We have seen similar increases among civilians at the senior exec at its service level. The ndaa therefore requires a carefully tailored 25 reduction in the number of general flag officers corresponding 25 decrease to the ranks of senior civilians and 25 cut to the amount of money that we spend on contractors that are doing staff work. The ndaa also passed the National Security policy staff at 150. The National Security council, staff will be capped at 150. The staff has steadily grown over demonstrations of both parties in recent decades. The under George Herbert walker bush there were 40 and now the first 40 under George Herbert walker bush, more than 100 in the clinton administration, morehe than 200 during the george w. Bush administration and now there are reports of nearly 400 under the Current Administration plus as many as 200 contractors. This tremendous growth has enabled a troubling expansion of the nsc staff activities from its original Strategic Focus to micromanagement of operational t issues in ways that are inconsistent with the intent of congress when it created the nsc in 1947. It has gotten so bad, so bad that all three leaders who have served as secretary of defense under the current administratios originally blasted the nscs micromanagement of operational issues during their 10 years reformer secretary of defense leon panetta, leon panetta has come out publicly in favor of shrinking the nsc staff saying he thinks we can do the job better with fewer people. In short, the nsc staff is becoming increasingly involved in operational issues and should be the purview of Senate Confirmed individuals in the chain of command. In doing so beyond the reach of congressional oversight. O the if this organization were to return to the intent of the legislation that established it, it could reasonably claim that is strategic functions on behalf of the president are protected by executive privilege. E if on the other hand the nscerat staff is to play the operational role that it has in recent years and i could give my colleagues example after example, but if we were to pledge the kind of operational role that it has in recent years and such a body cannot escape congressional oversight. The the purpose of the provision in the ndaa is to cap the size of the nsc staff to sustain a preference for the congresss original intent. Congress original intent in creating the nsc. Integration as i have said is a major theme in the ndaa. Another is innovation. For years after the cold war, the United States enjoyed a mere mere near monopoly of Defense Military technologies. That is changing rapidly. Our adversaries are catching up and the United States is it real and increasing risk of losing the military technological dominance that we have taken for granted for 30 years. At the same time our leaders are struggling to end the innovate against an acquisition system that too often impedes their efforts. I am applauding secretary to carters to innovate in rejected nontraditional hightech firms but it is telling that this is requiring the secretarys personal intervention to create new offices, organizations outposts and initiatives. All to move faster and get around the current acquisition system. An innovation cannot be an accelerated the department of defense. It must be the Central Mission of its acquisition system. The unfortunately that is not the case for the office of the undersecretary undersecretary of defense for acquisitiondg technology and logistics, known as be html. It has grown too big tries to do too much and is too focused on compliance at the expense of innovation. Thats why the ndaa seeks to divide html between two officest and new undersecretary of Defense Research and engineering and empowered in renamed undersecretary of management and support which was congressionally mandated two years ago. And the job of research and engineering would be developing defense technologies that can ensure u. S. Qualitative military dominance. Off this office would set defense white acquisition and industrialbased policy. What pull together the centers of innovation and the defense acquisition system and it would oversee the development and manufacturing of weapons by the services. In short, research and engineering would be a staff job oka stun innovation policy and oversight of the military services and certain defense agencies such as darpa. By contrast, management and and support would be basically aligt management position. He would manage the multibilliondollar businesses such as the defense logistics goods and agency, the buys goods and services for the department of defense. It would also manage other defense agencies that perform other critical business functions for the department such as performing audits, paying our troops and managing contracts. This would not only enable research and engineering to focus on technology development, would also provide for a betterf management of billions of dollars in spending on Mission Support activities. These organizational changes the complement the additional acquisition reforms in the ndaa that build on our efforts of last year. This legislation creates new pathways to the department of defense to do business with nontraditional defense firms. E a it streamlines regulations to procure commercial goods and services. It provides new authorities or the rapid timing acquisition and dealing of new capabilities and it imposes new limits on the use of socalled costplus contracts the overuse of these kinds ofenm contracts and the complicated and expensive government bureaucracy that goes with them serves as a barrier to entry for commercial, nontraditional andse Small Businesses that are driving the innovation our military needs. Another major reform in this years ndaa is among sweeping overhaul of the military Health System in a generation. The strong bipartisan effort is the result of several years of careful study. The nba a creates greater value for military families and retirees and their families by improving the quality of health care they receive providing timely access to care andfa enhancing patient satisfaction. All done at lower cost to the patients by encouraging them to seek highvalue Health Services from highvalue Health Care Care the ndaa incorporates many the best practices and recent innovations for highperforming privatesector Health Care Providers. For example, in daa create Specialized Care Centers of excellence at Major Medical centers based on the specialized care delivery model in highperforming Health Systems like the cleveland clinic. The legislation also expands the use of teleHealth Services and incentivize participation and disease management programs. Finally the ndaa expands and improves access to care by referring a standardize a permit system and military treatment cr facilities and creating morepa options for patients to get health care in the private sector. Toget taken together these reforms along with many others in thel bill will improve access to and quality of care for servicemembers and theiran families and retirees and theiry families to prove that military combat readiness of our force to reduce Rising Health care costs to the department of defense. This entails some difficult decisions. The ndaa make significant changes to the Services Medicalr command structures and right size is a military Health System infrastructure. And yes, the ndaa asks him beneficiaries to pay a little more for better Health System. Let me make three brief points. Y first, activeduty servicemembers will not pay for any Health Care Services or prescription drugs they receive. The antiaa does not increasear the cost of Health Care Single cent for families of activeduty servicemembers enrolled in tricare prime. There will continue to be no one roman fees for their Health Care Coverage and all beneficiaries including retirees and their families will continue to receive Health Care Services and prescription drugs free of charge in Military Hospitals ana clinics. Second, the ndaa ask working age retirees many of whom are pursuing a second career to payl a little more. Increases in annual enrollmentol fees for tricare choice are phased in over time in and their modest increases in pharmacy copays or retail pharmacies and for brandname drugs through the mail order pharmacy. Access to the mailorder pharmacy where they can access a 90day supply of generic prescriptions free of charge through fiscal year 2019. Third, while some military third, while some military while some military retirees pay also more, the guiding principle of this reform effort is that we would not have byriz pay more unless they receive greater value in return, better access, better care, and Better Health outcomes. The ndaa delivers on that promise. Modernizing the military Health System is part of the ndaas focus on sustaining the quality of life of or military Service Members, rye tierees and their families. The ndaa authorizes a 1. 6 pay raise for our troops and reauthorizes over 30 times ofes bonusess special pays. On the legislation restructures and enhances leave for military parents to care for a new child, and provides stability for families of the fallen by permanently extending the special survivor endem it in allowance. No endem net allowance no widow should have to worry that he or she may not receive the offset of the socalled widows tax. This ndaa backs law, he or she will never have to. The ndaa also implements the recommendations of the department of Defense MilitaryJustice Review Group, by incorporating the military justice act of 2016. The legislation modernized the military courtmartial trial and appellate and increases transparency and independent review in the military justice taken together the provisions in the ndaa constitution the most significant reforms to the uniform code of military justice in a generation. Among the many personnel policies theres one that has already attracted some controversy. That of course is the provision in the ndaa that rerequires women to register for Selective Service to the same extent asini men beginning in 2018. Early this year the department of defense lifted the ban on women serving in Ground Combat units, and after months of rigorous oversight a large bipartisan majority on the Armed Services committee agreed that theres simply to further justification to limit Selective Service registration to men. Thats just not my view but the view of every single one of our military Service Chiefs, including the army chiefs of staff, and the commandant of the marines corps. There will likely be furtheran debate on this issue. As is unfolds we must never forget that women has served honorably in our military for years. They filled Critical Roles in every branch of our military. Some have served as pilots, serving cam bat missions in afghanistan. Some served logistics, like johnny ernst who ran convoys, others intelligence, military engineer is, boot camp instructors and more. Many of these women have served in harms way and many women have made the ultimate sacrifice, including 160 killed in afghanistan and iraq. As we uphold our commitment to the wellbeing of our Service Members and their families, we must also uphold our commitment to american taxpayers. As part of the Committee Others come spendsive effort to epreliminary nate wasteful spending and improve the system, the ndaa imposes strict oversight measures on programs such as the f35 joint strike fighter, the b21 Long Range Strike bomber, the forward class Aircraft Carrier, and the combat ship. These provisions will ensure accountability for results, promote transparency, protect taxpayers, drive the department to deliver our war fighters the capability they need on time, as promised, and at reasonable cost. The ndaa also upholds americas commitment to allies and partners. It authorizes 3. 4 billion to support our afghan partners astn they fight to preserve the gaine of the last 15 years. Feed the terrorist defeat the terrorists who want toes destablize the region and attack american interests. The legislation provides f 1. 3 billion for counterisil operation. The ndaa supports the european assurance initiative, increases capability and readiness of u. S. Nato forces to deeder and if necessary respond to russian aggression, also authorizes up to 15 million in Security Assistance to ukraine, including lethal assistance. We should give the ukraineian people the ability to defend themselves. Finally, the legislation mil includes 239 million forsile u. S. Israel cooperative Missile Defense programs. As we continue to support allies and partners against common threats the ndaa makes major reforms the pentagons complex and unwieldy Security Cooperation enter prize which is complicated the department of defenses ability to effectively prioritize, plan, execute, and oversee these activities. The legislation also makes sure were not providing support to adversaries like russia. The u. S. Assured access to space continues to rely on Russian Rocket engines. Purchasing these engines provide financial benefit to vladimir vr putins cloneys, including visits sanctioned by the United States. Subsidizes the Russian MilitaryIndustrial Base. This is unacceptable at a time when russia continues to occupy crimea, destabilize ukraine, menace our nato allies, violate the 1987 intermediate range Nuclear Forces treaty, and bomb moderate rebels in syria. Thats why the ndaa repeals provisions from last years omnibus appropriations bill that further dependence on russia. Te once the russian engines are expanded, the defense depth would be required to achieve assured access to space withouta the use of rocket engines designed or manufactured in russia. Testimony before the committee, the secretary of defense, director of National Intelligence, and the secretary of the air force, each confirm that the United States can meet its assured access to space requirements without the you of Russian Rocket engines. We do not have to rely on russia for access to space. Given the urgency of eliminating reliance on russian engines, the ndaa would allow for up to half of the funds for the development of a replacement launch vehiclee or propulsion system to be made available offsetting any potential increase in launch costs as a result of prohibitions on Russian Rocket engines. Lion bud 1. 2 billion budgeted over the next five years, we can cover the costs of ending our reliance on russia while developing the next generation of American Space launch capabilities. Finally, legislation takes several steps to bolster Border Security and homeland defense. It authorizes 688 million for department of defense counterdrug programs. It enhances information sharing and operational coordination between the department of defense and the department of homeland security. It provides Additional Support for u. S. Southern command, and continues support for the u. S. Israel antitunnelling Cooperation Program. Helps to improve our efforts to restrict the know of drugs across the u. S. Southern border. I say to my colleagues, this is an ambitious piece of legislation. Gi and it is one that reflects the growing threats to our nation. Ng everything about the ndaa is threatdriven. Everything, that is, but it top line of 602 billion. That is an arbitrary figure set by last years budget agreement, having nothing to do with events in the world, which itself was the product of five years of letting politics, not strategy, determine the level of funding for our National Defense. He former chairman of the joint chiefs general Martin Dempsey described last years Defense Budget as, low, the lower ragged edge of manageable risk, and yet owe yet here we are, one year later, the defense spending arbitrarily capped at 17 billion what our military needed and planned for last year. I dont know what lies beneathag the lower ragged edge of manageable risk, but this is what i fear. Our military is becoming less and less able to deter conflict. And that if god forbid we end up in conflict, our nation will sufficient battle without sufficient training or equipment to fight a war, it will take longer, be larger, cost more, and. Matily claim more american lives than it otherwise would have. That is the greg risk theui growing risk the face, and for the sake of men and women serving in our military we cannot change course soon enough. At the senate will have the opportunity to do just that when we consider my amendment to reverse the budgetdriven cuts to the capabilities of our armed forces needed to defend the nation. I hope we will seize this opportunity. We ask a lot of our men and women in uniform, and they never let us down. We must not let them down. As we move forward with consideration of the ndaa, i stand ready to work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, to pass this important legislation, and give our military the resources they need and deserve. And i note the presence of my esteemed colleague and friend, Ranking Member of the Armed ServicesCommittee Without whom this legislation would not have been possible. It happens to be a source of great pride to me, and i hope to americans who believe we are bitterly divided. An example in the case of defending this nation and providing for the men and women who we send into harms way, senator from rhode island and i have developed a partnership that i believe has been incredibly productive, and without that kind of partner partnership, that i have enjoyed with my friend from rhode island, would not have been possible to produce this legislation which is obviously the most important obligation that we have, and that is to defend the nation. Madam president , i yield the floor. I morning business is closed. Under the previous order, the notion proceed to s2943 is agreed. To the clerk will report the bill. Amendment number 4206. The presiding officer the clerk will report. The clerk senator mccain for mrs. Fisher proposes amendment numbered 4206 mr. Mccain i ask that reading be waived. The presiding officer is there objection . Without objection. Mr. Reed madam president , i would first ask that scott teller have floor privileges during the Floor Consideration of the National Defense authorization act. Officer without objection. Mr. Reed i rise to discuss the fy 2017 Defense Authorization bill passed by the Armed Services committee. I want to begin by thanking senator mccain for abling leading the committee through many thoughtprovoking hearings and a successful markup with bipartisan support of the bill, and i believe the committee has worked diligently to evaluate not only the president s budget can for fiscal year 201 but also to 23017 but also to take a harder look at the department of defense and consider what reforms are necessary. Most if not all of that effort is the direct leadership of senator mccain, ensuring that we were nor rowly immersed into the details that we had access to expert testimony that we heard both sides of the argument, led to the markup, which was productive and as a result legislation that is before us here today. I think we both concede we can make improvements and were both going to strive to do that over the course of the next several weeks. But were beginning with a very thoughtful and very constructive piece of legislation on the floor, and i thank the chairman for that. There are many provisions of that bill that will help the department, both today and in the future. It is a lengthy bill. It contains sweeping reforms, as the chairman described in some detail. And i support many aspects of this bill. In fact, i was privileged to work with the chairman and our staffs so that we can develop some of these aspects. But because of the scope and because of the range of these improvements and reforms, i believe and i think its shared by others that we need a continued dialogue with the department of defense and other experts to ensure that we not only take the first steps but the subsequent consequences, both intended and unintended, are wellknown and contribute to our overall National Security. We really must ensure truly that our decisions that are incorporated in this legislation improve the departments operations and do not create unnecessary and detrimental congresses. Let me highlight some of the aspects of the bill that will help our ongoing overseas operations. We are engaged in a difficult struggle with isil and radical extremists and critical to our efforts to fight against isil are our local to fight against isil and that is why this bill includes 1. 3 billion to support the iraq and syria train and equip program and 180 million to support the efforts of jordan and lebanon to secure the border. The bill also includes 3. 4 billion in Afghanistan Security forces fun to preserve the gains of the last 15 years. These are critical investments that enhance our interest and keep pressure on our enemies. The bill provides the funds necessary to enable our operations across iraq, yemen, or other locations where isil, al qaeda and its remnants are located. This funding will continue to eliminate the network of supporters. Ensuring that there isxtremists continuous pressure on the violent extremists is critical. The bill funds u. S. Special a operations grant at the questioned level another 10. 76 billion, includes increase of 26. 7 million to help address Technology Gap identified on its fleet of mq9 reapers, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles which are important to our ability to effectively carry out strikes while avoiding collateral damage. The bill also sends critical authorities used by specialci thereses forces and enhances the role of the assistant secretary of defense and low intensity conflict and providing oversight and accuracy within the department. The fight against terrorism is not our fight alone, and it requires the support of old and new partners across the globe. O this bill will enable the o department of defense to support and enable our foreign partnersv and chit of major signaturans this years bill would undertake the most comprehensive reform of the enterprise in decades. Since 9 11, congress has created dozens of new authorities to enable our armed forces to engage with the National Security forces with friendly foreign countries. This has been difficult to navigate and oversee. To address this problem, this bill would consolidate and streamline Security Cooperation authorities. L this will greatly enhance the department of defenses ability to address the wideranging and evolving nature of global threats. Additionally, the ndaa consolidates approximately 2 billion in Security Cooperation funding into a new fund, the Security Cooperation enhancement fund. This new fund will enhance public transparency, increase flexibility and improveof congressional oversight. While the department of defense is only sponsor for two of the nine lines of effort against isil, and this bill funds those two lines of efforts dod plays an essential enabling role for many other parts of our government, particularly in the area of intelligence collection and analysis. This bill assures we can maintain an integrated effort against our enemies. Rt Defense Department is not the only federal agency that is responsible for our nations security. All agencies eave a role andou should receive the resources they need. This bill before us also the includes 3. 4 billion for the European Reassurance Initiative which will deliver critical investments to increase u. S. Military presence in europe,st improve existing infrastructure, and enhance allied and partner military capabilities to respond to external aggression, and als0 authorizes up to 500 million for the Ukraine TrainingAssistance Initiative,e to continue and expand ongoing efforts to support the ukrainian Security Forces in the defense of their country. My one major concern of the committee, and the chairman made reference to is about the state of readiness of our troops and equipment. I am very pleased that this bill contains almost 2 billion in additional funding to satisfy some of services unfundedincrea requirements. Additionally all of these increases are paid for with corresponding and targeted funding reduction. One other aspect of our National Security is our neck clear n nick nuclear deterrence, the our commit economy continues ton support it on a bipartisan basis, the bill continues to fund the the president s require to modernize our triad of Nuclear Capable air, sea, and ground delivery platforms. This is the full year of engineering for the be21 which will replace the b52s in built in the 1960s. While a b21 will be costlier, this turning to the area of if we are to maintain a seabased deterrent, the 14 ohib class submarines must be replace fled 2027 due to the potential hull failure. By then, the first ohio submarine will be 46 years old. The oldest submarine to have sailed in our navy in its history. The third aspect of our try ready, our land based icbms will not need to be replaced until 2030 but authorizes replacements of this leg of the triad which acts as a counterbalance to russian on icbms. Let me focus on the submarine program, an important part of our National Security and ane important part of my home state where construction begins. He this bill supports the virginia class attack submarine production at a level of two per year. The navy others requirement for attack submarines is having a force of 48 boats. Since attack even with two virginia class submarine are per year we knock allow construction rates to drop. The bill also supports the virginia module upgraded to the virginia class submarine with production in fiscal year 2019. The virginia payload module is important to replace tomahawk missile capacity. Virginiaclass i support the virginia attack program has led to the stability that helps drive down costs and improves affordability. This bill supports the plan for achieving similar effectiveness. The establishing and achieving Cost Reduction goals in these virginia class and ohio replacement programs will yieldb significant stability to our nations submarine Industrial Base which will ensure the navy has a modern, capable subin recent fleet for many years to come. Also indicated in his remarks the bill accomplished much on behalf of our Service Members and the department of defense and authorizees a 1. 6 pay raise and we authorizes a number of signing bonuses and special day authorities to encouragereenlisa enlistment, reenlistment and continued service by military person in the. The bill permanently expends the special survivor indemnity allowance, establishes an independent National Commission on military, national and Public Service to review the Selective Service process, and makes numerous enhancements to military whistleblower protection. Notably also this bill contains the robust practice of healthcare reforms. The current military Healthcare System designedded decades ago has served us well. Al since 2001battlefield survival raided have been highest in our history. However, it also is clear that the military Healthcare System has emphasized delivering peacetime healthcare and beneficiaries voiced their concerns about access to care. I know that many in the military community are wary of changes to the Healthcare System i believe the reforms in this bill are designed to improve and maintain operational medical forceess readiness, while at the same time affording better value to tricare beneficiaries by providing Higher Quality medical care and better access to care and a better experience in the process. Im also pleased to note that the mark includes a 105 recommendations of the military Justice Review Group. The group was made up of judges and lawyers, all military justice experts who spent 18 months reviewing and providing recommended changes to update the entire u. S. Code of military justice. These provisions approved an update of the and imwant to commend the members of the review group for their, and the counsels on our committee for all their efforts in this area. The Senate Tradition of improving the way dod buys everything, from major systems like the f35 and submarines to spare parts and buying new technology and next Generation Research products. Positive steps to strengthen our crag and Program Management and support secretary carters efforts to reach out to innovative Silicon Valley companies and other hightech Small Businesses. He im glad that we are building on the considerable and successful efforts that undersecretary frank kyndall has taken to control costs and improve delivery times of our major Weapons Systems. Which has resulted in a very successful series of bretter buying power reforms. Consistent with those efforts wa have emapproved ability to estimate costs of new systems and the cost to maintain them in the field or at sea, sometimes for decade, and to untangle the red tape that the Pentagon Acquisition process has sometimes been very much weighted down by. We can use better data and better analysis to make better decisions on what we acquire, and how we maintain it. I want to note that i believe there are few provisions wherean continued dialogue with the pentagon can improve our bill and make sure we achieve our shared goal. Delivering the best and most modern system to our forces while protecting taxpayer money in the most responsible manner possible. I hope we can Work Together to recondition and refine a few provisions in the bill to that end. For example, i am concerned that we overly limit the flexibility of dod to use all available contract types to best balance the needs of government and industry. Hat im pleased that the bill before us is very supportive of the finest engineers and otherch technical innovators in in organizations under the department of defense and in dod laboratories across the nation. Fully fund the president s request for science, Technology Research programs, including the university of Research Programs that are the foundation along with all military and commercial technology. Were also fully funding the strategic capables, both working to develop the next generation systems that will dominate the battlefields of the future, on the ground, on the sea, under space. We also take important steps to ensure that dod can better a compete with the private sector aim led and some rinking pool of world class technical talent. We have given the dod the toolsc to hire the best scienceties and engineers, and some special pay authorities. Also have taken steps to cult the red tape that ties up these organizations and keeps them from achieving their full innovative potential as well to allow the labs to more easily build and maintain modern Research Equipment and facilities. One of the major challenges facing dod is the difficulty in moving sump are such large and Diverse Organization. Ed i am pleased that the will provides a number of authorities and pilot programs that will allow the department to explore new Business Practices informed by best commercial practices, which hopefully will drive down costs and reduce ther bureaucratic burdens on the military. O for example we pushed for the department to make more use of the field of big data, and Data Analytics so it can use the information in a much more sophisticated way, improve management, Human Resources and acquisition practices. Big data techniques have changed the commercial sector in managing supply chains and changing the way people manage sports teams. We would like to see similar techniques used in ways that will improve the efficiency of the pentagon. The senate today continued work on the 2017 defense policy and programs bill. It authorizes 602 billion in pentagon spending, and would require for the first time ever, that women register for the draft. Today the Senate Approved an amendment to bill from nebraska senator deb fisher that would require a report on changes to the military Healthcare System. Next, on the communicators, conversation on email privacy laws. Indias Prime Minister is in the u. S. This week. Hell meet with president obama tomorrow at the white house, will look at u. S. India religiouses in 30 minutes here on cspan 2, later a discussion on Academic Freedom on university campuses. Its from Emery University law school. We are going public. To be watched by our friends and people across the country, and i would hope as i said before that the senate may change as an institution. May become a more efficient body because of televised proceedings. The proceed ocean the United States senate are being broadcast donation on television for the first time. Not that we have operated in secret, until now, millions of americans have sat in the galleries and observed Senate Debates during a visit to washington. But today,y