Discussion · House of Representatives
Adam Smith Democrat
“Both parties worked together to write this defense bill. It helps military families and improves our defense technology. But I do not support the anti-trans rules added to it. I also cannot support spending 1.6 trillion dollars on defense while we cut taxes, cut food aid, and run huge budget deficits. The administration is being too partisan, and it is hurting our ability to pass this bill.”
“Mr. Chair, first of all, I thank everyone involved in the process. We do this every year, but I think it is really important that we recognize the people who did all of the work to make this bill possible--certainly, the HASC staff, my able team behind me and the team that serves Mr. Rogers and serves the full committee. We worked in a bipartisan way through well over a thousand amendments and two or three times that many ideas to craft together a very large piece of incredibly important legislation. That work should not go unrecognized. The members of the committee also go out of their way to work in an incredibly bipartisan way, and that is a credit to Chairman Rogers. He makes a real effort to make sure that Democrats are included, that we have a fair conversation, and that we try to get to the best result possible. I think that is incredibly important. Mr. Chair, I also thank the Rules Committee for their hard work. They have to sort through over a thousand amendments, as well. Of course, the floor staff that has to work through this entire process every year does an outstanding and amazing job. They are dedicated public servants who deserve our very high praise. In the bill itself, there are things I like and things I don’t like. I think it reflects the process overall. I think it does a very good job of doing oversight of getting to acquisition reform, of continuing along the path of how we innovate faster at scale. The chairman has done an excellent job of pointing out the need for that. We need innovative technologies. We need them in a more cost- effective way. This bill reflects those priorities. It also supports our troops and our families, including pay raises, general benefits across the board, and a real focus on making sure that our servicemembers are taken care of. I don’t like that the SAVE America Act is going to be attached to this. I don’t like the gratuitous anti-trans amendments that were added to the bill. There are other aspects of it that I am troubled by, but overall, I respect the process. The big point I will make today is, I really think we are at a crossroads in this Congress, in the appropriations process, as well, but in the NDAA. We are trying to work in a bipartisan way, and I will say that Mr. Rogers does it. I think Senator Wicker in the Senate does it, but we have to do that against the backdrop of an unbelievably partisan and, in many ways, out-of-control administration and Department of Defense. They are taking us down roads that I think are incredibly dangerous and make it very hard to maintain that bipartisan spirit. Mr. Chair, I want you to know that I am an incredibly reasonable person. I will work with absolutely anybody. Some people will say I am too willing to work with people, but that is the nature of the democratic process. I don’t identify the people I like and don’t like, and say if I don’t like you, I am not going to work with you. For representative democracy to work, we have to work with people that we disagree with--many times passionately, strongly--on incredibly important issues. We have done that throughout my entire time on this committee through a fair number of chairs and ranking members. For 65 years--I haven’t been on the committee for 65 years, but we have passed the National Defense Authorization Act. During President Trump’s first term, when I was chair of the committee, I worked with the Trump administration. We got a good bill done. The second time, the President threw a little wrench in at the end. In a bipartisan way, we actually overrode the President’s veto to make sure that the NDAA got done. This year, we have issues that have risen above the normal flow of partisan divide. First of all, we have the budget number. When we add it all up--and I know this bill only has $1.15 trillion in it, but baked into the defense budget is another $350 billion in reconciliation. I forget where the supplemental is at these days. I think it is around $90 billion, but you add it all up, and they are asking for $1.6 trillion in the defense budget. That is a 60 percent increase at a time when we are running a nearly $2 trillion deficit. People are talking openly about what is going to happen when the U.S. has to default in 5 years, 6 years. This is also at a time when, again, we insist on cutting taxes, cutting taxes. No, cutting taxes does not increase revenue. Just because revenue goes up from one year to the next when you have cut taxes--it was going to go up anyway. The budget office says that the tax cuts cost us $4 trillion over 10 years. When you look at the other priorities that are out there--cuts to Medicaid, cuts to SNAP, inability to invest in infrastructure and housing. The American people are struggling to pay their bills. Then, we are going to put $1.6 trillion into the defense budget. It is not a reasonable thing to ask. We can’t work in a bipartisan way on a number like that. Again, the White House and Department of Defense take an unbelievably partisan approach. They have no interest in talking to us. They are giving briefings just to Republicans on crucial issues. That has never happened before. Through Democrat or Republican, I have never seen anything like this. The unbelievable partisanship is undermining our ability to get to a bipartisan bill, and it starts with the budget. There are many other issues, like the war in Iran. We are in an incredibly dangerous situation. The costs continue to escalate. We have lost more servicemembers. The Acting CHAIR (Mr. Goldman of Texas). The time of the gentleman has expired.”
Mr. Chair, first of all, I thank everyone involved in the process. We do this every year, but I think it is really important that we recognize the people who did all of the work to make this bill possible--certainly, the HASC staff, my able team behind me and the team that serves Mr. Rogers and serves the full committee. We worked in a bipartisan way through well over a thousand amendments and two or three times that many ideas to craft together a very large piece of incredibly important legislation. That work should not go unrecognized. The members of the committee also go out of their way to work in an incredibly bipartisan way, and that is a credit to Chairman Rogers. He makes a real effort to make sure that Democrats are included, that we have a fair conversation, and that we try to get to the best result possible. I think that is incredibly important. Mr. Chair, I also thank the Rules Committee for their hard work. They have to sort through over a thousand amendments, as well. Of course, the floor staff that has to work through this entire process every year does an outstanding and amazing job. They are dedicated public servants who deserve our very high praise. In the bill itself, there are things I like and things I don’t like. I think it reflects the process overall. I think it does a very good job of doing oversight of getting to acquisition reform, of continuing along the path of how we innovate faster at scale. The chairman has done an excellent job of pointing out the need for that. We need innovative technologies. We need them in a more cost- effective way. This bill reflects those priorities. It also supports our troops and our families, including pay raises, general benefits across the board, and a real focus on making sure that our servicemembers are taken care of. I don’t like that the SAVE America Act is going to be attached to this. I don’t like the gratuitous anti-trans amendments that were added to the bill. There are other aspects of it that I am troubled by, but overall, I respect the process. The big point I will make today is, I really think we are at a crossroads in this Congress, in the appropriations process, as well, but in the NDAA. We are trying to work in a bipartisan way, and I will say that Mr. Rogers does it. I think Senator Wicker in the Senate does it, but we have to do that against the backdrop of an unbelievably partisan and, in many ways, out-of-control administration and Department of Defense. They are taking us down roads that I think are incredibly dangerous and make it very hard to maintain that bipartisan spirit. Mr. Chair, I want you to know that I am an incredibly reasonable person. I will work with absolutely anybody. Some people will say I am too willing to work with people, but that is the nature of the democratic process. I don’t identify the people I like and don’t like, and say if I don’t like you, I am not going to work with you. For representative democracy to work, we have to work with people that we disagree with--many times passionately, strongly--on incredibly important issues. We have done that throughout my entire time on this committee through a fair number of chairs and ranking members. For 65 years--I haven’t been on the committee for 65 years, but we have passed the National Defense Authorization Act. During President Trump’s first term, when I was chair of the committee, I worked with the Trump administration. We got a good bill done. The second time, the President threw a little wrench in at the end. In a bipartisan way, we actually overrode the President’s veto to make sure that the NDAA got done. This year, we have issues that have risen above the normal flow of partisan divide. First of all, we have the budget number. When we add it all up--and I know this bill only has $1.15 trillion in it, but baked into the defense budget is another $350 billion in reconciliation. I forget where the supplemental is at these days. I think it is around $90 billion, but you add it all up, and they are asking for $1.6 trillion in the defense budget. That is a 60 percent increase at a time when we are running a nearly $2 trillion deficit. People are talking openly about what is going to happen when the U.S. has to default in 5 years, 6 years. This is also at a time when, again, we insist on cutting taxes, cutting taxes. No, cutting taxes does not increase revenue. Just because revenue goes up from one year to the next when you have cut taxes--it was going to go up anyway. The budget office says that the tax cuts cost us $4 trillion over 10 years. When you look at the other priorities that are out there--cuts to Medicaid, cuts to SNAP, inability to invest in infrastructure and housing. The American people are struggling to pay their bills. Then, we are going to put $1.6 trillion into the defense budget. It is not a reasonable thing to ask. We can’t work in a bipartisan way on a number like that. Again, the White House and Department of Defense take an unbelievably partisan approach. They have no interest in talking to us. They are giving briefings just to Republicans on crucial issues. That has never happened before. Through Democrat or Republican, I have never seen anything like this. The unbelievable partisanship is undermining our ability to get to a bipartisan bill, and it starts with the budget. There are many other issues, like the war in Iran. We are in an incredibly dangerous situation. The costs continue to escalate. We have lost more servicemembers. The Acting CHAIR (Mr. Goldman of Texas). The time of the gentleman has expired.