Thank you, Chairman Rogers, Chairman Reed, and Ranking Member Wicker.
For 63 consecutive years, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) has served as the foundation for our national security priorities, fulfilling Congress’ sacred obligation to provide for the common defense of the American people. This meeting provides a valuable opportunity for Members to provide feedback as we work in a bipartisan manner to ensure the fulfillment of that sacred obligation and address the issues that matter most to our national security and defense.
Chief among those issues is the core of our national defense: service members, civilian workers, and their families. To ensure that we can continue to recruit and retain the diverse and talented military and civilian workforce we need to succeed, we must continue to invest in people by supporting the proposed 5.2% pay raise for service members, strengthening the civilian workforce, and supporting military spouses and families with better housing, child care, career opportunities, and health care.
We also must continue to find bipartisan paths to ensure investment continues in innovation and technology as well as our domestic industrial base and military readiness and with an eye toward modernization and oversight. And we cannot forget our commitments to our allies and partners around the world.
I appreciate the commitment of my colleagues here today. The NDAA process has and continues to be an example for how Congress should function — passing legislation in our respective chambers and working in a collaborative, bipartisan, and bicameral way to find common ground, reach compromise, and work out our policy differences all in support of our national defense. I look forward to finalizing the bill and moving it to the Senate and House floors soon.
Thank you, again, and I yield back my time.
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For 63 consecutive years, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) has served as the foundation for our national security priorities, fulfilling Congress’ sacred obligation to provide for the common defense of the American people. This meeting provides a valuable opportunity for Members to provide feedback as we work in a bipartisan manner to ensure the fulfillment of that sacred obligation and address the issues that matter most to our national security and defense.
Chief among those issues is the core of our national defense: service members, civilian workers, and their families. To ensure that we can continue to recruit and retain the diverse and talented military and civilian workforce we need to succeed, we must continue to invest in people by supporting the proposed 5.2% pay raise for service members, strengthening the civilian workforce, and supporting military spouses and families with better housing, child care, career opportunities, and health care.
We also must continue to find bipartisan paths to ensure investment continues in innovation and technology as well as our domestic industrial base and military readiness and with an eye toward modernization and oversight. And we cannot forget our commitments to our allies and partners around the world.
I appreciate the commitment of my colleagues here today. The NDAA process has and continues to be an example for how Congress should function — passing legislation in our respective chambers and working in a collaborative, bipartisan, and bicameral way to find common ground, reach compromise, and work out our policy differences all in support of our national defense. I look forward to finalizing the bill and moving it to the Senate and House floors soon.
Thank you, again, and I yield back my time.
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