wa o

ion by his own administration, and the argument goes that if that president knows that the transcript will be released, he'll sit for the interview. if he knows there is a chance the recording might beperate. this is an absurd proposition mr. speaker. certainly not sufficient to override the legitimate oversight interests of the house of representatives. frankly, this is not how we would like to be spending floor time but the recaltrans and

obstruction of this administration has made it necessary. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: members are reminded to refrain from engaging in personalities toward the president. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california mr. mcclintock: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new york. .. mr. nadler: i yield two minutes to ms. deep. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized.. dean: i thank the speaker from new york. mr. speaker, this contempt resolution is the latest attempt to tear down our democracy. the department has complied with republicans after every turn. after 92,000 pages of documents, more than a dozen transcribed interviews and a 250-page transcript that was verified, my colleagues still aren't satisfied. they are doing this in service of one man the former

president, to distract from his crimes. on may 20th, a jury of citizens found mr. trump guilty of 34 felony charges. it's beyond disheartening a former president and now potential presidential candidate again was convicted of coordinating a quote, unlawful conspiracy to win in the 2016 election and falsifying records to cover his tryst with an adult porn star. i'm concerned our democratic institutions are under threat. some of these attacks coming from within. judiciary chairman jim jordan said a kangaroo court convicted former president trump. speaker johnson called the trial a purely political exercise. mr. trump apparently pities himself as a so-called political prisoner. all this to tear down our americans' faith in the rule of law. contrary to his complaints, mr. trump was tried and treated

fairly. justice was served in a courtroom that was and a jury that was chosen by the prosecution and the defense. this is the rule of law at work. political rhetoric and deliberate misinformation. the likes many dangerous others erode faith in our institutions and threaten the safety of the american people. these attacks undermine the rule of law which stands to protect the rights of all people. when attorney general merrick garland was before the judiciary committee -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. mr. nadler: i yield the gentlelady an additional 30 se ms. dean: when he was before the judiciary committee he described upholding the law and in his words it meant ensuring we treat like cases alike that we do not have enemies or friends that we do not pay attention to the political parties or the wealth or the power or the influence of the people we are investigating that we follow the facts and the

law. this is what distinguishes america from our adversaries. i yield back. mr. nadler: mr. speaker, how much time do i left? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york has 8 1/2 has 6 1/2 minutes. mr. nadler: thank you i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the chair again will remind members from engaging in personalities to the nomination for president. mr. mr. mcclintock: i yield four minutes to mr. roy. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. roy: i thank the gentleman from california and the speaker. listening to my colleagues discuss the rule of law find it shocking. the average americans are listening, worrying what happened to the rule of law. when i watch my fellow texans getting destroyed by dangerous cartels and individuals being allowed in the united states, terrorists and those moving

fentanyl into the country that killed kids in the school district which i live. when i watch a 75-year-old woman being put in prison by a politically motivated judge in the district of columbia because they protested in front of an abortion clinic -- i want to say it again this department of justice is putting a 75-year-old n jail for two years who is dealing with physical informatives because she was praying in front -- infirmities because she was praying in front of an abortion clinic. people watching while statues are defaced in the name of being pro-palestinian. people exercising their so-called free speech rights advancing the cause of terrorism happening against our friends in israel and happening feet from the white house. the american people are wondering how this world got turned upside down. here we sit and debating this

issue and the attorney general of the united s before the house judiciary committee just a little over a week that hearing a number of questions were asked and i engaged with the attorney general and i asked the attorney general, did he or did he not claim privilege with respect to the transcripts of the audio recording in question when we were talking about special counsel hur looking into the allegations of the abuse of classified materials by the president of the united states before he was president. and i asked him and he said no no. we did not claim executive privilege with respect to the transcripts. in a separate exchange regarding the best evidence rule, the attorney general is engaging with another colleague a friend on the judiciary committee about the best evidence rule, and in doing so articulated and explained how the transcript was admissible under the best evidence rule, which is correct

but in doi up the game in which he described and said they're the same. he said to the committee he said they're the same. now, he just told me they did not claim executive privilege with respect to the transcript. then he said to all of us, they're the same. the audio recording and the transcript are the same. and then he proceeds to say he must, in defending the rule of law, claim executive privilege on the actual audio, and then deny the members of congress the ability in the middle of an impeachment inquiry, duly constituted and voted on by this body on the house floor an impeachment inquiry then to deny us the ability to listen to the audio. the fact of the matter is, there's only one reason why the attorney general would do that. he doesn't wr it. that's why. and there's really only two reasons why that would be the case. either the transcript doesn't match the audio or the audio is so bad that he doesn't want us

to hear it because special counsel hur put the entirety of his decision not to prosecute not to pursue, not to go after the president of the united states for abuse of classified materials, he did it entirely on the basis of w as the demeanor of the president which only the audio can allow congress the ability to determine the validity -- the validity of thaby the special counsel. i yield back. mr. mcclintock: i reserve. shae: the gentleman reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new york. mr. nadler: i now yield one minute to the distinguished member of the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. balint: we're here today because of the republican party's unrelenting effort to get donald trump back into office. no matter thethe law.

for over a year, the judiciary committee republican colleagues have desperately sought evidence for wrongdoing by president biden. and what have they found? nothing. nothing. i'm sure it was disappointing for my republican colleagues when special counsel hur cleared the president instead of indicting but it is time to move on. we should be on the floor moving gun violence legislationo abortion probablying the lbgtq+ americans across the country who are attacked relentlessly by my colleagues on the other side. this is a colossal waste of time but more importantly it is dangerous. what they are doing is dangerous. this congress is over the only achievements, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will be able to point to will be the things that we as democrats helped them to pass. 30 seconds? mr. nadler: i yield the gentlelady an additional 30

seconds.tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. balint: it is all of our jobs to represent the constituents. i thought that's what we were all here for. i implore my republican colleagues to stop putting the interests of one man, one man above the interests of american peoples. the truth will come out and history will not look kindly on what you have done here. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: i ask you to direct the remarks to the chair. the gentleman from new york reserves. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. mcclintock: i'm ready to close when the gentleman from new york has exhausted his speakers. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new york. mr. nadler: mr. speakerminutes to the distinguished gentleman from virginia, mr. conley. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. conley: mr. speaker if you gave truth serum to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, i'm pretty sure

they'd admit they'd rather not be here today doing this. mr. connolly: to admit attorney general merrick garland is collateral damage for his failed effort to impeach the pre there's no honor in this. and my colleagues2re for the most part, i think honorable people. so this is not something they want to do,heless. former president trump has repeatedly threatened the house republican conference that they must impeach president biden quote, or else, unquote. so here we are. finding the attorney general in contempt for providing a transcript a full transcript but not an audio recording of an interview from an investigation that ended up finding nothing. oh and by the way the recording in question is now subject to executive privilege. so the fight's not even with the attorney general of the united states, it's with the white house. i take some solace the fact

that many of my republican friends and colleagues are here doing the dirty work of one individual against their will and better judgment. i know deep down, very deep down that they'd rather do the honorable thing and give up this miscarriage of justice today. i yield back. mr. nadler: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. mcclintock: i'm ready to close when the gentleman is finished. mr. nadler: i'm prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york. mr. nadler: mr. speaker, the house republicans have spent the last 18 months in a futile effort to dig up dirt on president biden which culminated in their epic failure of an impeachment inquiry. this resolution is nothing more than a desperate attempt to save face with the magassphere.o hold the

attorney general in contempt though he's turned over all the information they requested in their subpoena. this resolution will not change that fact. but facts never have been the force behind their investigations. it is a show and apparently the show must go on. even though the script hasn't turned out the way they wanted. but the reviews are in, and it's a flop. so i urge my colleagues to vote no on this resolution and to put an end to this farce. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york yields back. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. mcclintock: thank you. mr. speaker, the american justice system is the pride of our nation. it's the envy of the world. and its central principle is the equal application of justice under law. this is why justice is depicted as blindfolded. it d before it, all are to be treated equally. is this central principle that gives the law its

legitimacy. without it, the law becomes devoid of legitimacy. the respect for the law gives way to the law of the jungle. this is the well-tropical depressionen path many nations before us have taken to despotism and ruin. it's the responsibility of the house judiciary committee to protect the law and its equal application. it isur nation against the convulsions thatmonly afflict banana republics whenever a ruling party tries to jail its opponents. the radically different handling of the documents cases involving mr. trump and mr. biden should ring alarm bells in every corner of the land. the the principal justification of this radical application of law is the interview the judiciary committee seeks through ancient constitutional prerogatives. it is vital we understand the whole context of this decision

to verify the accuracy of the transcript and to determine the extent that this conversation informed a decision that strikes at the heart not only of our rule of law but the right of the american people to guide their own destiny through fair, free, and unfettered elections. congress has a constitutional right and a constitutional duty to seek this information and the attorney general has a legal obligation to provide it, an obligation he refuses to honor. this congress has enforced this prerogative in past cases under a far less demanding circumstance than these. in order to assure that we have discharged our responsibilities, we have to compel the attorney general to discharge his and that's what this citation seeks to do. i urge its adoption and yield back the balance of my time. .. the speaker pro tempore: tornia yields back. all time for debate has expired.

pursuant to house resolution 1287 the previous question is ordered on the resolution. pursuant to clause 1-c of rule 19 further consideration of house resolution 1292 is postponeed.

the speaker pro tempore: for

what purpose does the gentleman from alabama seek recognition? >> mr. speaker i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks remarks -- that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks, and insert extraneous material on h.r. 8070. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. pursuant to house resolution 1287 and rule 18, the chair declares the house in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of house resolution 8070. the chair appoints the gentleman from california, mr. mcclintock, to preside over the committee of the whole. the chair: the house is in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for

consideration of the bill h.r. 8070 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: a bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2025 for military activities of the department of defense for military construction and defense activities of the department of energy to proscribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes. the chair: pursuant to the rule the bill is considered as read the first time. the gentleman from alabama mr. rogers and the gentleman from washington mr. smith each control 30 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from alabama. . rogers: mr. chairman, i'd like to yield myself such time i may consume. the chair: the gentleman is recognized mr. rogers: for the first time in decades this year's defense bill carries a different short title. it's the service member quality of life and national defense authorization act. we did that to underscore the tremendous gains this bill makes toward improving the quality of life for our service members and their families. no service member should have to

live in squalid conditions. no military families family should have to rely on food stamps to feed their children. and no one serving this country should have to wait weeks to see a doctor or mental health professional. but that's exactly what many of our service members are experiencing, especially our junior enlisted personnel. this bill goes a long way towards fixing that. it includes a 20% pay raise for junior enlisted. expands allowances for housing and food and improves the cost of living calculation. the bill authorizes $766 million over the budget request to improve and build new ones. it enables the services to pursue public-private partnerships to bet -- provide better unaccompanied housing. the bill reduces dangerous health care wait times by waiving referral requirements for specialty care and expanding the number of d.o.d. doctors and nurses with special recruitment and pay authorities. the bill improves access to

childcare for military families by providing over $206 million to build new d.o.d. childcare centers and fully funding childcare fee assistance programs to o cost of private childcare. the bill helps bill military spouses gain and retain employment by making it easier for them to transfer profession professional licenses between states. it also gives the d.o.d. the authority to quickly hire military spouses and keep them employed during changes in duty stations. we are making these historic improvements in the quality of life of our service members because now more than ever we need to recruit and remain the best andghtest. that's because the threats our nation faces especially those from china are more complex and challengeing than any other point in the last 40 years. to deter those threats the f.y.2025 ndaa reforms acquisition authorities and fosters private sector innovation to speed the fielding of game c us

the advantage in a conflict with china. it strengthens our security partnerships with taiwan and pacific allies. it fully funds the modernization of our nuclear deter rent. protects the u.s. military bases, the defense supply chain, and academic research from chinese espionage. it builds the pacific the military needs to carry out operations against china. and it includes new investments to retool and revitalize the industrial base to ensure it can deliver the systems we need to prevail in any conflict. in the face of the growing threats from china it's also critical we restore our military's focus on lethality. the f.y.2025 ndaa does that by ending divisive policies have hurt unit cohesion and military readiness. we all know that deterring these threats will be an expensive endeavor. but we acknowledge there are limits as to what we can spend. that's why this ndaa is focused

on rooting out waste in the d.o.d. if weapons systems are not responsive to the threats we face we cut them. in fact, this bill includes over $30 billion in savings from cutting systems that can't survive in a conflict china and by reigning in programs like the f-35 that are not delivering on requirements. i want to thank the ranking member and his staff for their tremendous work in puttingll together. this is a truly bipartisan bill. it passed out of committee 57-1. it executes hundreds of hours of bipartisan oversight conducting by members and staff over the past few months. it will help revitalize the defense industrial base. it will build the ready capable and lethal fighting force we need to deter china. and it will he provide historic improvements in the quality of life of our service members and families. i urge all members to support the bill and i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from washington is recognized.

mr. smith: thank you mr. chairman. i yield myself such time as i may consume. first of all i want to really thank the chairman as well as the staff both on the republican and democratic side, and bipartisan staff for the process to date. as the chairman noted we produced a very strong bipartisan bill out of committee. it passed by a vote of 57-1. and addressed a number of key concerns to our national security. and a lot of work went into that. i always lose track of the exact mbers, but well north of 1,000 amendments were considered in committee and in the rules committee. the staff ashifted through those and helped produce that product. that's not an easy j we are blessed on both sides of the aisle, both on the armed services committee an rules committee with an outstanding staff. i want to thank them for their work in producing this product. the number one highlight of the product is what the chairman mentioned. the focus on quality of life for our service members andir families. we empaneled a group being task

force to exam quality of life issues led by don bacon on the republican side, chrissy houlahan on our side. they did a remarkable job of doing outreach to service members, their families, veterans listening to them about what do you need? what is most important to make sure you have everything you need to take care of your family. certainly one of the biggest issues junior enlisted. we upped that pay by 19.5%. which is a pretty dramatic number. it reflects the need, the need that those service members face in the current environment. we also crucial need. building more childcare centers and eliminating the backlog of people waiting to get access to childcare. because we all know that what makes our military the best in the world is not any of the equipment. it's the people who serve. we need to take care of the people who serve and we need to take care of their families as well. that is the crucial part of the military. that's what this bill does bert than any bill we have done before in this committee. one of the many reasons why this bill is so important.

it is also crucial as the chairman pointed out to modernize and update our military. we are in a rapidly changing environment. we have seen that in the war in ukraine. we saw that in the war in armenia. drones. counter drone. the ability to protect your information systems and make vuerable the information systems of your adversaries are crucial to fighting. we have to upgrade that. we worked in a bipartisan way to make sure we can upgrade our technology more quickly to work with those companies developing the most iovatyde technologies so we can field them quickly. get our war fighters what they need in a timely manner. then there is the matter of production. we have seen this in the war in ukraine. we and our allies need to be able to produce more of the critical ammunition and weapons systems that we need to fight. we are making progress. i think the biden administration particularly

under secretary austin. the coalition pulled together in response to russia's invasion of ukraine is remarkable. north of 350 countries are working together to help defind fend ukraine but crucially to build up the partnerships and alliances and make sure we have enough weapons to be an adequate deter rent to our adversaries. that process is going well. more needs to be done. this bill helps move us forward in that direction. this bill focuses on oversight as the chairman mentioned. we want to free up the military to buy the system they need by making sure that we don't continue to spend money on systems that they don't need. then we exercise proper oversight. i want to the f-35 program. it has been a vexing and difficult program. that has been overbudget and underperforming for far too long. this year's bill we pare back the money and put the money to make sure we get the f-35 we are paying for. they can reach the block four that has been so elusive for so

many years that. is the crucial part of t i think we put together an excellent product. i am deeply concerned about the amendment process that will play out over the course of the next couple days. we'll see how that plays out. the one point i do want to make on this. an area of contention has always been diversity. the other side has been critical of what the department defense has done to recruit the diverse people possible. will i say more on this throughout the amendment process. look we need to be able to access all the talent in this country. not just white men. we need to recruit women. we need to recruit from communities of color. we need to recruit from the lgbt community. that is crucial to making sure we have the talent we need. i hope that this bill doesn't undercut those efforts as we go forward. as passed out of committee as it stands right now, this is an outstanding piece of legislation. i strongly urge everybody to support it. with that i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves.

the gentleman from alabama is recognized. mr. rogers: thank you mr. chairman i yield two minutes to my friend and colleague from colorado the chairman of thegic forces subcommittee, mr. lamborn. the chair: the gentleman from colorado is recognized for two minutes mr. lamborn: thank you chairman rogers. i rise today in strong support of the fiscal year 2024 national defense authorization act. this bill prioritizes our military, safeguards their rights and puts forward a fighting force that will stand against the threats facing the united states of america. as chairman of the strategic forces subcommittee, i believe this bill continues the tradition of bipartisan work for which our subcommittee has been known. this bill supports the ongoing efforts to modernize america's nuclear deter rent anti-laboratory and production infrastructure managed by the department of energy's national nuclear security administration. additionally the bill starts to address some of these risks that were taken on by the biden administration by partially restoring funding to the sm-3

production line which is part of eguys system that so successfully defended our ally israel against iranlistic missile attack. finally it requires the space force to budget and plan to integrate cutting-edge commercial systems. mr. speaker i'm very proud to bill as it directly affects so many thousands ofse families that live in the fifth congressional district of colorado. which is home to five major military installations. i commend the work of this year's quality of life panel. led by representatives bacon and houlahan which resulted in sweeping and long overdue improvements for the well-being of our service members and their families. .. as i stand here today this is the last time'll speak in favor of this legislation. i urge my colleagues to keep a close eye on the horizon where there are storm clouds gathering in memory of passing this

bipartisan duty to provide for our defense. i strongly encourage a yes vote and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from alabama reserves. the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. smith. mr. smith: i recognize mr. norcross of new jersey. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. norcross: thank for you what you do every day. something to be proud of. this bill continues with the proud bipartisan mission to share tough choices to manage strategic risk. and thanks to my chairman whitman and our staff who work together day in and day out in an incredibly bipartisan way. when we look at some of the ahead of us, we look to the markup we had a few weeks

ago to see how things can work correctly when we work together. and we hope we stay on track for that certainly as we go through this amendment project. this bill addresses the risk to military modernization without sacrificing oversight and ensuring responsible execution of our defense program. i just want to mention too first, the f-35 fighter the most expensive program in the history of d.o.d. and onehasistently struggles to deliver capability as promised. this committee's bipartisan bill adds new requirements to fix these known problems and capabilities that we need now as the contractor has promised. our bill does not waste taxpayers' investment on prodtion aircraft but will add to a large number of fighters that are not being used right now sitting on the ground waiting and waiting and waiting. second topic is our munitions as

we heard a few minutes ago. the procurement company with strongts in our munition's account sends a strong signal to our industrial partners and i'm proud to be a part of that work the subcommittee has done over the past several years to be there. finally, i want to thank the federal valerio michael curlin max huntley and brook all protect. i want to take a -- and brook albrecht. and i want to take a moment to recognize bill who has contributed in an important way and with that i yield back. the chair: the gentleman from washington reserves. the gentleman from indiana is recognized. mr. rogers: i'd like to yield to mr. banks. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. banks: this is a strong ndaa and urge my colleagues to support it. it includes many priorities that

are essential to protecting our national security. it remains a must-pass legislation to care for our service members and my families. there are enormous wins in this bers and our families starting with a 19.5% pay raise for junior enlisted service members. it increases access to specialty medical care, expands childcare programs to reduce wait lists across the country a ensures our service members receive 100% of their housing costs through their basic allowance for housing. we must continue as well to gut the woke bureaucracy at the d.o.d. and this bill does that. it contains many provisions including a requirement that all military personnel actions are based on merit without regard to race or color or sexuality or your political views. there is a ban in this bill on

affirmative action at our service academies. by the end of this week, i expect this bill will also include more important hiring freeze on all d.e.i. personnel a ban on overpaid cheap diversity officers and a complete ban on funding for critical race theory across the d.o.d. this bill builds on the undation of last year's ndaa curtailing the iact this administration's woke leftist policies can have on our troops. but we've seen just this week with the air force in korea authorizing the wearing of pride patches on air force uniforms, or how a school in bahrain honored a known active semite on their facebook page, d.e.i. and leftist politics in the biden pentagon is still firmly entrenched and we must do something about it.

mr. chairman, this bill is a huge step forward to supporting our service members and their families. it is our promise they receive the pay and benefits necessary to focus on their mission that their children are cared for and well educated. we can't do enough to make sure this happens and this bill goes a long way to do it. mr. chairman, i yield back. the chair: the gentleman from alabama reserves. the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. smith: i'm proud to yield to mr. courtney of connecticut. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. courtney: thank you. i rise in support of h.r. 8070. article 1, section 8 of the constitution mandates congress shall provide and maintain a navy. the mandate has been met thanks to the great part and leadership of my friend, trent kelly. the biggest challenge our subcommittee faced stems to the navy's proposal to eliminate a submarine from the fy-25 budget and is a sharp deviation from

the procurement rate congress has authorized and funded for the last 13 years and coming on the heels of last december's passage of occus's authority to sell three submarines to australia screamed out to do its review andversight. our analysis found the navy's attempt to shield supply chain vendors from the impact of a cut falls short and leaves out hundreds of critical suppliers whose investment in on-time deliveries has been identified as the number one strategy to reduce construction delays. for these suppliers, cutting procurement means cutting orders for business and is a cure that worsens't fix it. our professional staff confirmed the navy's plan needs an additional $1 billion to achieve its stated goal of avoiding surrender stability and hesitancy. all of us are concerned about construction delays aggravated by the pandemic but tommittee recognized momentum happening in real time in the submarine industrial base. the 24th virginia class

submarine u.s. new jersey was delivered two months ago and iowa and massachusetts are slated for delivery by the end of this year. idaho and arkansas will follow shortly after with deliveries in 2025 bringing the program total to 28 submarines. in the new england shipyards the production cadence has accelerated to 1.4 from the covid dip of 1.2. as a result of all of this, our bill takes a different path. it heeds the calls from our combatant commanders and builds on the deliveries by restoring a virginia second class submarine to the navy shipbuilding account and fully resources the supply chain. under the able leadership of chairman rogers and ranking member smith, this bill passed 57-1 out of input from all members, an extraordinary achievement in this very polarized time in congress. hopefully all the members of this chamber will work to maintain this successful approach and not load up this bill wh divisive amendments. they also want to give special thanks to the talented committee staff for their outstanding work. i urge all members to support

the committee's intent to focus on strengthening defense and rejecting the obvious poison pills that undermine the tradition of undermining the passage of the ndaa. the chair: the gentleman from washington reserves. mr. rogers: i'd like to yield to trent kelly of mississippi. the chair: the gentleman from mississippi is recognized for two minutes. mr. kelly: i rise in strong support of h.r. 8070. it is crucial forroving the quality of life for our service members and ensuring the readiness of our armed forces. i want to thank chairman rogers and ranking member smith and my good friend jon court any and the member of the sea power forces committee to their dedication. your commitment is important to maintaining superiority. we seek a hostility seeking to and china poses a direct threat to the ino pacific --

indo-pacific region. we must maintain the strongest force of the navy on the planet. it funds a second class submarine and provides critical strategic deterrence and supports six battlefield ships and invests in the shipyard base and works with the navy's 30-year shipbuilding plan. this bill prevents the early retirement of two missile cruisers and meets a mandated floor of 31 amphibious ships and authorizes funding for a new build sea lift program. h.r. 8070 makes significant strides in improving the quality of life for our service members by authorizing a $19.5 -- 19.5% for juniors enlisted and a 4.5% increase for all others. it addresses many of the struggles the military families he deteriorating condition of the military housing is long overdue. this bill authorizes substantial funding to tackle housing maintenance, to construct more

housing)q and make sure our service members have safe and dignified living conditions. i urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this great back my time. the chair: the gentleman from alabama reserves. the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. smith: i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the house subcommittee on intelligence and special operations, mr. gallego of arizona. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. gallego: i rise in support of h.r. 8070. i'd like to thank chairman rogers and ranking member smith in their leadership for bringing this bipartisan leadership -- this bipartisan bill to the floor. it ensures we have the right resources to defend the nation not only today but in thef great power competition, the bill addresses the challenges our potential competitors and adversaryies and builds crucial partnerships and alliances to deter them. i'm proud of the work of my subcommittee, the special operations piece of this bill

ensures our special operations forces and defense capabilities and enterprises have the authority for structure and people they need to accomplish their mission. the bill improves security operation efforts including in the baltic region and extends an existing authority to engage partner militaries on defense related environmental and operational energy issues in areas like the indo-pacific. i'm also pro secured important wins for arizona which play such a crucial role in our nation's defense. we are requiring d.o.d. to report on the critical infrastructure like local water systems and authorizing additional funding for infrastructure and communication upgrades at air force combat ranges. this bill is certainly not perfect but voted out of committee on an overly bipartisan bill. it's my hope this bill can remain bipartisan and devoid of extreme policy writers that put our national secur risk and harm our service members. with that, mr. speaker i yield back. the chair: the gentleman from washington reserves. the gentleman from alas, mr. chairman.

i'd like to yield to a important member of our committee who is on our committee and task force who spent time studying the quality of life issues our military families have been struggling with and helped put together the package that we have in this year's bill that addresses these issues, mr. bacon of nebraska. the chair: how much time does the gentleman yield? mr. rogers: two minutes.ed for two minutes. mr. bacon: i want to thank the member to navigating the ship to a good spot and appreciate the opportunity to serve on the two committees. i rise in strong support of h.r. 8070, the service member quality of life improvementnd national defense authorization act for fiscal year 2025. the 2025ndaa prioritizes the service members and military families who dedicate their lives to protecting and defending the united states by making their quality of life the cornerstone of this legislation. the bipartisan bill includes a targeted 19.5% pay raise for the

junior enlisted and improves basic needs allowance and housing allowance supports military spouse deployment and makes necessary investments in military housing childcare and schools. i'm proud of the hard work and oversight conducted by the bipartisan quality of life committee. by voting for this bill, each of us had the opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to the all volunteer force the foundation of america's military strength. in addition to supporting service members of families, this year's ndaa makes strides in bolstering the united states' offensive and defensive posture in cyberspace. it promotes innovations and makes investment in biotechnology, quant intelligence and secures our research from adversarial interference. this year's ndaa makes sure we are working together.

we want to help the next technologies. these partnerships are critical to developing the scientific and technological work force and talented pipelines needed to secure the united states' technological advance now and in the future. we have a strong ndaa and is a strong bill that supports our service members and ensures the u.s. forces are well equipped to fight and win in conflict. i encourage my colleagues to support this bill and yield back. the chair: the gentleman from alabama reserves. the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. smith: thank you. i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the ranking member of the house subcommittee on cyberinformation technologies and innovation, mr. khanna of california. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. khanna: thank you mr. speaker. .. i want to thank chair rogers for the fair way he conducts the committee. we should be money to spend on defense and whether we are getting our money's worth. it's no secret i believe it should be a lower number. i recognize that's a valid

debate this committee should have. what i don't understand is some of the amendments that have nothing to do with defense being introduced into this bill. amendment 55 for example prohibits the defense department from paying for the six leave or travel for service members receiving an abortion. amendment 51 prohibits d.o.d. from using masks to combat a pandemic. amendment 49 prohibits the defense department from providing or approving pride flags. amendment 47 prohibits even the teaching of affirmative action. you wonder what does this have to do with defense policy or keeping our country safe? amendment 22 prohibits the d.o.d. from buying electric vehicles or chargers. talk about big government being prescriptive. amendment 9 -- amendment 44 directs the confederate memorial

to return to the arlington national cementtary. mr. speaker my hope is that this committee could the topline of defense and what we need to do to keep our country safe and not bring these cultural divisive issues into supporting our troops and into keeping america the strongest country in the world. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman from washington reserves. the gentleman from alabama is recognized. mr. rogers: i like would like to yield two minutes to the chairman of the subcommittee on intelligence, the gentleman from michigan , mr. bergman. the chair: the gentleman michigan is recognized for two minutes. mr. bergman: thank you chairman. i rise in support of h.r. 8070, the service member quality of life national defense authorization act for fiscal year 2025. i would like to thank chairman rogers and ranking member smith for their leadership in bringing this critical piece of legislation -- bipartisan legislation for our national security of our nation to the floor for the 64th consecutive year.

this bill continues to provide resources and capabilities to counter our nation's number one threat china. the intelligence and specials subcommittee portions of the bill accomplished this by ensuring the defense intelligence enterprise, the defense security cooperation operations forces have the tools required to execute the department's efforts in strategic -- strategic competition and intercountering maligned jazz interactions. there is more work to be done. this bill is far from perfect and requires compromises from both sides. but it is an overwhelmingly bipartisan bill that supports our service members and their families by including the of life panel to include a 19.5% pay raise for our junior enlisted. and a 4.5% pay raise for all other service members. more importantly it provides our service members wit the resources to accomplish the task

our nation asks of them. this is a critically important bill and essential to our national security. i urge our micolleagues to support it. with that, mr. speaker i yield back. the chair: the gentleman from alabama reserves. the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. smith: i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the ranking member of the house subcommittee on military personnel mr. kim of new jersey. the chair: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for two minutes. mr. kim: thank you, mr. speaker. the bipartisan bill that passed out of the committee includes some incredible support for our service members and their families. the bill includes a 19.5% pay raise for junior enlisted service members. and a 4.5% pay raise for all other service members. and reverse as 5% reduction in basic allowance for housing. these provisions mean more money in service members' pocketbooks and more food on the table. the bill also fully funds childcare fee assistance programs to eliminate wait lists and expand on the ongoing

success of spouse employment programs by making permanent the military spouse career accelerator pilot which provides employment, support to military spouses through a paidowship with employers across various industries. it is no secret our armed forces are facing an be precedented -- an unprecedented recruiting crisis, we are asking the department to take a second look at how medical conditions, and medications are evaluated. finally, the bill addresses the ongoing health care needs of service members and their families by waiving fees and co-pays on the try care dental program for all members -- tri tricare dental program for all members of the reserve. we bring this bill to the floor to show in a bipartisan way that our country is determined to support our service members and families. we support readiness and recruitment efforts that are proven to work. and we support service members no matter who they are. i urge my colleagues to reject poison pill policy riders that

could destabilize this important work and not put the partisan politics over the well-being of our service members. promoting a strong national defense and taking care of our service members are bipartisan issues. thank you. i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman from washington reserves. the gentleman from alabama is recognized. mr. rogers: thank you i'd like to yield two minutes to the chairman of the subcommittee on readinessorida. the chair: the gentleman from florida is recognized for two minutes. mr. waltz: thank you mr. chairman. i rise in support of the service member quality of life improvement and national defense authorization act for fiscal year 2025. mr. chairman the bill we see before us is a bipartisan package. it enhances readiness. it increases security. and it improves desperately needed infrastructure that has been badly as the member designated by this pentagon. most importantly it puts the readiness subcommittee which i have the honor of chairing has included more than $1 social security billion for quality of life initiatives.

this money will provide critical funding for barracks in particular. which, mr. chairman, our in a dire state. to be candid , mr. chairman we literally have barracks with black mold growing in it, with feces on the wall. with ceilings saving in. it should be an embarrassment to every one of our service secretaries. we have yet to see anyone, anyone in the pentagon, fired for this deplorable state of our service member barracks. mr. chairman the pentagon and this administration won't act this congress will. this bill will. it will improve our barracks. improving our -- improve our aging infrastructure. it will provide transparency to how our facilities are sustained. and that is key. with more details into how these funds are actually spent, with oversight with congress holding the military departments accountable, they will be forced to adequately budget and plan

for the upkeep of our facilities that our service members so badly need. as chairman of the readiness subcommittee, i have also focused our efforts on ensuring the department of defense is ready to fight with contested logistics in the pacific. mr. chairman, we haven't had to do that since world war ii. frankly, i think we are taking our logistics infrastructure for granted. we now have an adversary in the chinese communist party that can contest it. that could go after it. and we have to to -- we have to be able to project forward and defend those assets this. bill will do that. the bill authorizes over $650 million in indo pay come priorities left unfund -- indo pacom priorities left unfunded. i don't know why our president theft the priority theater unfunded to the tune of i know this bill will go a long way fixing that oversight t fund military exercises with our allies. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired.

mr. waltz: eliminate reliance on russian energy for our installations. i encourage my colleagues to support this bill. the chair: the gentleman from alabama reserves. mr. rogers: reserve. the chair: the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. smith: i reserve at this time. the chair: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from alabama is recognized. mr. rogers: mr. chairman, i would like to yield 90 seconds to friend and colleague from my committee, mr. gaetz of florida. the chair: the gentleman from florida is recognized for 90 seconds. mr. gaetz: thank you mr. chairman. i rise in support of the ndaa, which is admittedly a work in progress. we have seen in prior years the conference process produce even more wins for our military families. like the paid family leave. it's my hope that we'll look at restoration of rank and back pay for service forced out. by the wins in this bill for militaryies ought to inspire every member of this body to vote for the ndaa. i would particularly draw attention to the investments in childcare. i hear about childcare at almost

every installation in the country i visit. the investment we are making in over touchdown00 million brings us directionally correct. caring for those military families. it's critically important to vote for. i also point to the boost in compen enlisted. and also the over $600 million investment in housing. when we take care of these quality of life issues for our military families, we see a direct positive impact in our readiness retention recruitment. all the things that i know unite us in a bipartisan fashion. we should vote for this bill. and continue our great work to make it even better. thank you mr. chairman. i yield back. mr. rogers: i reserve. the chair: the gentleman from alabama reserves. the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. smith: i continue to reserve, mr. chairman. the chair: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from alabama is recognized. mr. rogers: at this time i'd like to yield two minutes to mr. wittman of virginia. the chair: the gentleman from virginia is recognized for two minutes. mr. wittman: i thank the chairman for yielding. this bill comes at a really

crucial time for our nation. along with many of my colleagues that were at the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of d-day invasion in normandy, france we should be reminded of the sacrifice we ask of each of our service members as they work hard every day to protect our nation. this bill puts a primary and bipartisan focus on the quality of life for our service members and their families. it includes a 19 1/2 pay raise for our junior enlisted. the bill also fully funds military housing which is critically important these days. this bill also requires service members be promoted on their not on constrived bureaucratic initiatives. for these reasons it's not surprising a multitude of key military organizations association of america, and the national military families association all support this bill. this bill also provides meaningful reform on a joint strike fighter program and supports necessary future capabilities like next air generation dominance aircraft

and the ballistic missile submarine in the columbia class. those things are critical. it's not surprising that this bill was report interested committee on a resounding bipartisan vote of 57-1. chairman rogers and ranking member smith should be rightly congratulated for delivering this bipartisan bill to the floor today. i want to congratulate my colleague and friend, ranking member don norcross. we worked on the most contentious issues together and our product was an impressive bipartisan subcommittee mark. finally, i want to thank the entire subcommittee staff including dave, keith michael max, jay and brook for their particular and intensive effort and support on this bill. my friends it's simple to vote against any bill offered here in the house. voting no is easy. but if you vote against this bill, you are voting against the military service members who provide our nation the want and

will to sacrifice their lives on behalf of this nation. to preserve the liberties and freedoms that are the foundation of this republic. i thank the chairman. i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman from alabama reserve. mr. rogers: reserve. the chair: the gentleman from alabama reserves. the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. smith: i continue to reserve, mr. chairman. the chair: the gentleman from washington reserves. the gentleman from alabama is recognized. mr. rogers: thank you mr. chairman. i'd like to yield one texas mr. jackson. the chair: the gentleman from texas is recognized for one minute mr. jackson: thank you mr. speaker. first i want to thank the chairman for his leadership in crafting such a powerful defense bill that takes transational strides to improve the quality of life for our service members. as a former service member and father and father-in-law of active duty members i understand how important this is. this year's ndaa ensures the texas 13th congressional district is at the heart of supporting our military. it takes steps to designate a new air force technical training

center of excellence which shepherd air force face baste is well positioned for. the bill improves the quality of life for our service members and their families living in wichita falls, while helping to get the t-7 program back on track. this bill provides key support r our employees at bell helicopter in amarillo and significantly modernize the plant. i would like to thank my fellow clay. travis brings invaluable experience to the team as a navy s navy. once again i can't stress how important this year's ndaa is to our national security of our country. i urge all of my colleagues to both sides of the aisle to support this ndaa. with that i yield back. i. the gentleman from alabama reserves. the gentleman from washington. mr.smith: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentman from alabama. mr. rogers: i yield one minute to the gentleman from missouri.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. i rise in support of this national defense authorization act, the service member quality of life improvement and national defense authorization act and we have focused on three major components enhancing u.s. deterrence countering china's aggression and quality of life. if i had to concentrate on one life. i have been on the quality of life panel led by general don bacon. we are improving housing and ensuring access to medical care, increasing access to child. we have a recruitment and retention problem mr. speaker in the military, and we are working to make things better. try to increase our

retention and recruitment. china's aggression is the greatest national security to america today. and to deter china and other adversaries, we are investing in the b-21 stealth radar. i encourage my colleagues to vote yes for the ndaa. mr. rogers: i reserve. mr.smith: i have no more speakers and i am prepared to close. mr. rogers: i have no more speakers -- i have one other speaker. i would like to yield one minute to the gentleman from texas mr. arrington. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. arrington: a young man by

the name of caleb sm inch thers. his dream was to serve in the military. he got a chance to serve. his training at fort bragg g he had a serious accident. since the protocols weren't there to check on a soldier and weren't accountability for health care services to the army thrks young man ended up dying. i think his life could have been saved if protocols were in place and accountability measures were in place. i think the secretary has all but affirmed that. this provision would put those things in place and would expect that the army does and defer to their best judgment on how to do it. this young man's life and his mother here who has worked diligently with the

unconditional love for her son not only would his spirit live on but it would actually the lives of other soldiers who would find themselves in the same predictament. we all care about our sons and daughters in uniform and have the abundance of caution to prevent that from happening. those checks would be called smitty's after caleb. i yield back. mr. rogers: i am prepared to close, if the ranking member is as well. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr.smith: i yield myself the balance of our time. i don't have a lot more to add for my opening statement. we have produced an excellent product out of committee. i want to mention one thing. it is really important that we have psed the ndaa 63, 64

consecutive years -- 64, and there is a reason for that. one of the most io here is give support to the men and women who serve in our military to defend this country. we take that job on a bipartisan basis and support the men and women who serve in the military and put the military to meet the national security needs. i don't love everything that came out of the committee bill, but then you never do. we worked in a bipartisan manner. i urge members to support that and urge members to reject any of the amendments that will make this divisive. we do not have a woke military. and frankly, i am offended hear members come down here and claim we do. we have the best fighting force in the world and talk to the men and women who serve they deal with the challenges we face that

would make us proud. what we do have is an effort to include everybody in the military and recruit from across the country and diverse populations and include women in a meaningful way to take advantage of the talent that women would bring to the military and do bring to the military. i hope we don't denigrate our military as being woke or weak, it is neither. we have to continue to sprt it and the excellent job that the military does and men and women and families that support them do so for our country. reject divisive amendments. get us the bipartisan product that we produced out of committee. with that, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from arkansas -- alabama, sorry. mr. rogers: we all talk the same. i want to thank the ranking member my friend, mr. smith

who has been an outstanding partner and the democrat staff has been very, very good to work with in fashioning this bill in a bipartisan fashion with republican staff and i want to thank them for doing tay once again. i take great pride that our country for 63 consecutive years has found a way to pass the ndaa no matter which party is in the white house. i want this to be the 64th year. our national security is a -- about to be challenged in ways never imagined. the bill before us will prepare our industrial base and war fighters to overcome those challenges. i urge all members to support this bill and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: scrabt. all time for general debate has expired. pursuant to the rule, the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute

rule. printed in the bill an amendment in the nature of a substitute contexting of 118-3 and the bill as amended shall be considered as an original bill for the purpose of further amendment under the five-minute rule and considered as read. no further amendment shall be in order except printed in part b of 118-151 and amendments en bloc. each further amendment in part b of the report shall be considered in the order printed in the report may be offered by a member designated by the report shall be considered as read shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally controlled by proponent and opponent and not subject to amendment and not subject to demand for division of the question. it shall be in order for the

chair of the armed services committee to offer amendments en bloc consisting of further amendments printed in part b of the house. amendments en bloc shall be considered as read and debatable for 40 minutes controlled by the chair and ranking minority member or their respective designees, not subject to amendment or subject to demand for division of the question. it is now in number 1 printed in part b of house report 118-551. for what purpose does the gentleman from alabama seek recognition? mr. rogers: i rise as the designee of the the gentleman from texas and i have an amendment at the desk. the clerk: amendment number 1 printed in part b of house report 118-551 offered by mr.

rogers of alabama. pursuant to house resolution 1287, the gentleman from alabama and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from alabama. mr. rogers: i yield myself such time as i pay consume. this amendment would require the air force to begin restoring nuclear exaibts to the b-52 bombers that had this capability removed that was under the star treaty. and so we need to be prepared to face a nuclear environment without any treaty limit takes. that's what the amendment does, it takes steps to ensure we are prepared for a future threaten environment that is more competitive and unconstrained by treaties. i reserve the balance of my time -- i yield.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from washington rise? mr.smith: i rise to claim time in opposition. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized mr.smith: thank you very much. we will be brief on this, but this is a requirement that d.o.d. to do. b-52's are not all nuclear capable because there are limitations in the treaty which is still in existence. the department of defense is not interested in doing this. what they are interested in doing is investing in the b-21 of the next generation nuclear capable bomber. this would cost a great keel of money and trying to extend the life out to are confident they can do. this would be another added expense to that. we should look at this issue more before we require the department of defense to go down that route and i would urge a no vote.

with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from alabama. those in favor, say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of th chair the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed to alabama alabama pursuant to h. res. 1287 i offer amendments en bloc. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendments en bloc. the clerk: amendments 2 3 7 11 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20,

25 27, 29, 31, 32, 33, 59, 60 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93 94, 95, 96, # 7 98, 99,

101, 102 103 104 108 110 111, is 114 116 offered by mr. rogers of alabama. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 1287, the gentleman from alabama, mr. rogers, and the gentleman from washington, mr. smith each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from alabama. mr. rogers: i yield 1 1/2 minutes to the the gentlewoman from missouri, mrs. wagner. the chair: the gentlewoman is recognized. mrs. wagner: i want to thank the chairman for once again working so hardether the national defense authorization that we can be proud of,

security our common defense. as co-chair of the bipartisan bicameral abraham accord caucus, i rise in support of mr. panetta's and my amendment amendment 102 which establishes an exchange program on cyber, counter terror, air defense and more. the u.s. relationship is the lynch pin of middle eastern security with security and stability our prosperity brings to the region convinced arab nations to take the step of normalizing relations with israel. but china russia and iran, the new a evil see this achievement as will plunge the region into further c to do so. we cannot let this happen. for a peaceful prosperous israel and its friends must draw closer

together and u.s. must strengthen ties partners and israel. this amendment builds on the defend and maritime acts important laws that our caucus that kick started the cooperation between united states israel and middle eastern on maritime security and air missile defense. i urge my colleagues to i urge my colleagues to support the amount. and i yield back. erve. the chair: the gentleman from alabama reserves. the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. smith: i just speak in favor of the en bloc package. with that i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from alabama is recognized. mr. rogers: mr. chairman, at this time i'd like to yield two minutes to the gentlelady from colorado, ms. boebert. the chair: the gentlewoman from colorado is recognized for two minutes. ms. boebert: mr. chair, i have an amendment at the desk en bloc.

i was going to different way. the chair: the gentlewoman is recognized to speak on the amendments en bloc. ms. boebert: thank you, mr. chair. i rise in favor of my amendment which prohibits the department of defense from contracting with entities that are engaged in a boycott of the state of israel. last october israel faced an unprecedented attack by hamas. since then they have been fighting for their very right to exist against a terrorist group that has committed brutal and horrific war crimes. hamas is responsible for slaughtering babies, using children as human shields raping israeli women executeing parents in front of their children and children in front of their parents. these brutal acts of terror are often praised by my colleagues

on this is disgusting and absolutely wrong. i believe in standing with our allies. america's closest ally is israel and i have stood with them through countless attacks from the radical left. the boycott die vest and sanction movement, promotes anti-israel and anti-semitic sentiments around the world. and u.s. not be supporting entities that advocate for this disgusting practice. the b.d.s. movement is anti-semitic. it is annuitant see metic cancer even -- anti-semitic cancer even that has spread through our come ledge campuses and promoted -- college campuses and ploated by the hamas caucus on the left. it reached a record high in the last year. the anti-defamation league tracked 8,873 anti-semitic incidents in the united states

in 2023. the highest number of incidents reported since the organization began tracking data in 1979. our department of defense should not be contracting with anti-semitic entities or encouraging behavior -- the chair: the gentlelady's time has expired. mr. rogers: i reserve. the chair: the gentleman from washington is recognized mr. smith: i reserve mr. chairman. the chair: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from alabamas recognized. mr. rogers: at this time i'd like to yield two minutes to my friend and colleague from california mr. obernolte. the chair: the gentleman from california is recognized for two minutes mr. observer knelt -- minutes. mr. obernolte: i rise in support of the en bloc which contains three of my amendments. the first of my amendments would direct the air force to investigate new technologies for the mixing of propellant for solid fuel rocket motors to increase the diversity of our supply chain. the second amendment would direct the department of defense

to investigate new production sites for rare earth element minerals many sourced from countries that are amongst our geopolitical adversaries. the third amendment would direct the department of defense to make recommendations to improve home-based businesses on remote military bases like the ones in my district. together these amendments will make our military a better place to serve in. further enable them to improve their mission of protecting our country. i would like to thank the chairman for including my amendments in the en bloc. i urge adoption of the en bloc. yield back. mr. rogers: i reserve. the chair: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. smith: i continue to reserve. thank you. the chair: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from alabama is recognized. mr. rogers: mr. chairman, i encourage my to support the en bloc package. i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. smith: i urge support of the en bloc package. yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yield. the question is on the amendments en bloc offered by the gentleman from alabama. so many as are in favor say aye.

those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair the aye vs. t the en bloc amendments are agreed to -- the ayes have it. the en bloc amendments are agreed to. it is now in order to consider amendment number 5 printed in part b of house report 118-551. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? mr. mast: mr. speaker, i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 5 printed in part b of house report number 118-551. offered by mr. mast of florida. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 1287, the gentleman from florida mr. mast, and a member opposed each will control five minut recognizes the gentleman from florida. mr. mast: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in support of my

amendment which would prevent funds from being used to build or rebuild anything inside of the gaza strip. let me say that in a couple of simply plain ways. americans should not be funding the rebuilding of gaza strip whenever this war should come to a conclusion, which we don't have any indication of when that will be. we should notrastructure within the gaza strip. should this war come to an end. not a port, not a building, certainly not a terror tunnel which has been used. certainly not a building which could be used to house those that are held captive by the various terrorist organizations there. not just hamas but palestinian islamic jihad lions den, it's very likely any group that should take control of the gaza strip following any military operations there still has ties to terrorism and still believes there should be no existence of a jewishsraeli -- jewish

israeli state. i say one more time i rise in support of my amendment which would prevent any funds from being used to build or rebuild anything inside of the gaza strip. i reserve the balance of my time time. the chair: the gentleman reserves. for what purpose does the gentleman from washington seek recognition? mr. smith: i rise to claim time in opposition to the amendment. the chair: the gentleman isreinutes. mr. smith: thank you mr. chairman. i oppose this amendment for several difference reasons. first of all it's not 100% clear on what exactly constitutes funds to build or rebuild. this body did just approve a month or so ago a large package that included humanitarian assistance to deal with the war in gaza. i would not want this to restrict that. if it's not meaning to restrict that, there are no funds in the fiscal 2025 budget to rebuild in gaza. it's restricting something that isn't happening. more broadly i think the entire

argument this amendment is misplaced. we have to have a future for the palestinian people if there is going to be peace in the region. crucially for the purposes of this debate, if there is going to be any sort of peace for the people of israel. i do not believe it should be our policy to simply destroy gaza and leave it in a state of absolute disrepair. i don't think that will serve anybody's interests. certainly not the palestinian people living in gaza, not israel. there has to be a future here. there has to be an alternative to hamas and all the other terror organizations that the maker of this motion lists. if you don't create that, if you don't create some kind of future for the palestinian people, then you will have a perpetual conflict. not just between the people of gaza but between the large number of people who support them. we have already seen hezbollah the houstonys in iran be more attacks

against israel because of what's going on in gaza. if you don't build a future for the palestinian people, there will be no peace and security. if you vote for this amendment what you are saying is gaza should never be rebuilt. we do not care about that. we spend billions of dollars supporting israel. and i support that. i think we need to support israel's right to exist. i agree with the maker of this motion that that is one of the largest problems going on in gaza right hamas refuses to recognize that as do too many other groups. but we also need to have an alternative to hamas. we need to have some kind of hope going forward. this approach says no. we are not going to do that. i think it will lead to further instability in the region and put israel at greater risk. i urge members of this body to reject this amendment. i reserve whatever time i have left. the chair: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. mast: thank you, mr.

speaker. there is an argument made by the opposition just now that what we are saying is there should be no rebuilding of gaza. that's not what we are saying at all. gazans can rebuild gaza. any other country that wants to participate in rebuilding at some point can participate. what i'm saying is not one dollar not wanigans of gold bullion, not one anything coming from the taxpayers of the united states of america not our taxpayers they should not be burdened with rebuilding gaza. the americans should not have to pay for rebuilding infrastructure in gaza. when do we get to rebuild american infrastructure in prioritize that. phrase? prioritize that. the chair: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. smith: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself the balance of my time. if it iss to send billions of dollars we send roughly $4 billion a year.

approved another $14 billion a year in military aid to israel, that is money coming out of taxpayers' hands. tens of billions of dollars could be spent on infrastructure here in the u.s. in a wide variety of other needs we have in the u.s. if it is in our interest to spend those billions of dollars in military assistance to israel and again i believe that it is, then it is also potentially at least in our interests to build greater security in gaza and elsewhere for that matter to make sure that we don't have to have as much have the wars and fights that go on. it doesn't make sense to argue we should send $20 billion in military aid or whatever the number is, but oh, heavens, we couldn't possibly do anything to make sure that gaza can rebuild itself so that there is greater peace and stability in the middle east. again i think this amendment is misguided. i urge members to reject it. i yield whatever time i may have

left. the chair: the gentleman yields remainder of his time. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. mast: thank you, madam speaker. may inquire how much time i have remaining? hree minutes. mr. mast: there was an accusation made by the oppositi that we should rebuild gaza because if it's in the interest of america to support the israeli military, it must be in our interest to rebuild those that the israeli military is fighting against. that to me seems very nonsensical. very counterproductive. especially as much of what is being spoken of is going on in the midst of war. i would ask this body of represen of course not all representatives are present in this room, does anybody in here want to say that gaza is america's ally? i don't hear anybody speaking up. i have asked this question before. i have not heard anybody on the floor of the house say that gaza is america's ally. i doubt the opposition will stand up and say gaza's

america's ally. they are absolutely at war with one of our major and best allies anywhere across the globe. the idea of rebuilding or building even as we speak or in the future our nonally, who is at war with our great ally is nonsensical especially at our nonally is currently holding americans hostage and very active in participating in killing americans killing israelis killing others on october 7. this didn't begin on october 7. it's gone on for years and decades. and it's not likely to end any time soon. in that, madam speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. i am prepared to close. the chair: the gentleman has the only time remaining. mr. mast: i would say this in closing. american tax dollars do not need to go to gaza to rebuild it. american tax dollars need to stay in the united states of

america for americans. i urge support of my amendment which would prevent any funds from going to build or rebuild anything within the gaza strip. i yield back. the chair: the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from florida. those in favor, say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair the ayes have it and the amendment is agreed to. it is now in order to consider amendment number 6 printed in part b of house report 118-551. for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition? >> i have an amendment at the desk. the clerk: amendment number 6 printed in part b of house report 118-551 offered by

mr. ogles of thebe see. the chair: pursuant to -- the chair recognizes the gentleman from tennessee. mr. ogles: and the largest international expo for the land air defense. if it atraghts the attendance in 2022 over 60,000 professionals from 96 countries will be represented. more than 70 israeli companies were scheduled to participate in this year's expo including large defense like israel aerospace industries and rafael which work together to make iron dome which have partnerships with and another is albet systems which has aviator helmets and night is beneficial to smaller israeli firms that benefit from

massive exposure. the event request of french authorities, israeli firms were no longer welcome. the french armed forces ministry said conditions were no longer suited in the context where the president is calling for israeli operations in rafah to stop. it welcomes firms of bass tans like china turkey and saudi arabia. in turkey's case ongoing of china's uyghur population and unable to find condemnation for such genocide. france is bullying israel from protecting its own national security against some of the world's most heinous terrorists. the french government should apologize for embracing

antisemitism. i reserve. the chair: does anyone seek recognition? mr.smith: i claim the time in opposition although i am not opposed. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr.smith: i have no particular enthusiasm or opposition to this amendment. i don't urge opposition. mr. ogles: i thank my colleague for his kind words. american defense firms can participate in the exhibition, maybe it would help if federal agencies should not lend any u.s. support for france's outrageous behavior by participating as exhibitors. i don't think that would be something france would want.

u.s. participation is important and i think israeli participation is important. with that, i ask adoption of my amendment. and i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields and the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from tennessee. those in favor, say aye. those opposed, no. the amendment is agreed to. it is now in order to consider amendment number 8 printed in part b of house report 118-551. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition?

mrmast: i rise as the designee of mr. arrington. the clerk: amendment number 8 prind in part b of house report 118-551. the chair: the gentleman from florida, mr. mast, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. mr. mast: as mentioned i rise on behalf of house budget committee chairman representative arrington that would prevent funds to transport palestinian refugees to the united states of america. the primary mission of the department of defense is to ensure the defense and the security of the united states. allocating resources to transport palestinian refugees does not align wh the mission of protecting the united states. the depament of defense budget is already stretched thin with numerous global commitments and responsibilities. diverting funds and resources to

humanitarian efforts outside of its core mission could undermine the effectiveness of our armed forces. the budget is finite and must enhance our military capabilities maintaining our military infrastructure and supporting our servicemembers in uniform. the transportation and of refugees is significant burden that could dell tract from critical initiatives. u.s. military faces budgetary pressures including modernization needs. any diversion of funds coulderbate these challenges. there are valid security concerns the resetment of refugees. the vetting process for refugees is thorough but it is not infall i believe. individuals with potential terrorist ties do not enter the u.s. is paramount.

the u.s. has responsibility to prevent terrorists. security breaches can occur posing significant risks to national security. while the humanitarian needs of the palestinian refugees are undeniable these should be addressed through international aid organizations specifically designed for such purposes. these entities are better equipped in happenedling refugee crisis and can operate without compromising the united states military. in conclusion, the transportation of palestinian refugees by the department of defense is financially prudent or secure course of action. i urge my colleagues to ensure that the defense budget remains focused on essential purpose the defense security of the united states of america. and i reserve. the chair: the gentleman

reserves. for what purpose does the gentleman from washington rise? mr.smith: i rise to claim time in opposition and i yield myself such time as i may consume. this is actually an amendment that was defeated on a bipartisan vote in the house armed services committee. there are no plans for the defense to participate in any resetment process at this point. it could come up and could be something that is necessary and precluding it doesn't make a lot of sense. we have in the past certainly in afghanistan had some d.o.d. assets participate in the resettlement of refugees. there will be no aspect that the department of defense is in charge but assets within d.o.d. could be used for that purpose. and to block that often thirl doesn't make sense. the department of defense and broader executive branch should be allowed to determine whether

or not refugee settlement is in their best evidence. refugees could benefit and be resettled as the geneman noticed, there is a robust vetting process. but more than anything, the general tone of this amendment and the previous amendment that we had -- not the previous but the one before that, seems to take the opinion that every single palestinian living in gaza is an enemy of the u.s. and enemy of israel. i think that's wrong and it is incredibly dangerous. hamas is doing more damage to palestinians than anybody right now. we need to find allies and partners within the palestinian community if we are going to get to peace and if we treat every single last one of them as enemy of the u.s., we are a wrong and b putting ourselves in

israel to greater danger. to pass an amendment that is bias and someone bigoted against the palestinian people undermines our interests in a wide variety of ways and urge this body to do what the republicanttee did and defeat this amendment. and i the chair: the gentleman reserves. and the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. mast: may i inquire how much time i have remaining? the chair: 21/4. mr. mast: it was brought by the opposition that there are no plans as of yet as of yet to transport palestinians refugees back to the united states but there is a speech of how this could happen in the future. i believe that we are just on opposite sides of this issue and prevent this from taking place on the dime of the american

taxpayer transporting those who voted for hamas as their popular government and if it wasn't hamas, probably anotherother group that is dedicated to not seeing israel as a jewish state and in turn quite dedicated to the destruction of the united states of america and ideals and back to something since the previous debate that i brought up in the previous debate, i have not heard anybody in this body as of yet say that the people of gaza are an ally of the united states of america and as such we with ally israel and not transport with a country that is at war with our ally. and i am prepared to close. the chair: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from washington is recognized.

mr.smith: while i would not say at this point gaza is an ally of the u.s., clearly they are not i do not believe that gaza is an enemy of the u.s. which is clearly being implied here. yes, obviously while i say there are no plans to do this, that is the recognition of the fact, i oppose this amendment because if an opportunity presents itself it could be in the u.s. interests to relocate some refugees from gaza to the u.s. completely blocking that outputs us in a position of saying we are the enemy of all palestinian people. again, i don't believe that we are or all palestinian people see us as an enemy. and to view it that way puts a very dangerous position and puts israel in a very dangerous position. there are plenty of people in gaza plenty of people in the west bank, plenty of palestinians that we can work with to build a better and

peaceful future. to totally block off any possibility of that even recognizing the current conflict again strongly support israel in this fight against hamas no question about that. with this amendment and the other amendment suggests that we are against all the palestinian people and there is no hope for them wrong. again, we should reject this amendment and i reserves. the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance of hisgentleman from florida is recognized. mr. mast: i would reject the idea that because we should not allow palestinians into the united states of america that there is no hope for them. america has a great history of addressing any problems within our country and building and rebuilding fighting ing to make our own country great and other countries should do it within their borders as well. it's very loosely thrown around

the term, innocent palestinian civilians. of course there are but we live in a world where so much of the media and hamas and others want us to believe that because someone is of 45 or a female that we should assume they are an in any event palestinian because they are not wearing a black hood of hamas. i reserve. the chair: the gentleman's timeed. the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr.smith: i yield myself the balance of my time. as the gentleman knows, there are some palestinians that are not enemies of ours and if they need our help, we should help them. this amendment forecloses that possibility in all instances. and yes we will vet anybody. the refugee process says because you are over 18 or over 45. there is a vetting process.

whether or not this ever happens, i don't know. but passing an amendment to completely but passing on it is a mistake. i urge members to vote no. i yield my time. the chair: the gentleman yields his time. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from florida. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair the ayes have it. mr. smith: on that i would request a recorded vote. the chair: pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from florida will be postponed. the chair understands amendments 9 and 10 wil it is now in order to consider amendment number 14 printed in part b of house report 118-551. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek

recognition? >> i rise as the designee of the gentleman from tennessee mr. green, and i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment 14 printed in part b of house repor 118-551 offered by mr. mast of florida. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 1287, the gentleman from florida mr. mast, and a member opposed each will control five minutes and the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida. mr. mast: thank you, madam speaker. i rise with an urgent plea vote to safeguard the freedom of expression in the united states from the chinese communist party, the c.c.p. my amendment aims to curb c.c.p. censorship of american films. hollywood isn't only a time capsule of american culture but it is not -- it is not just a time capsule -- give me one moment here.

as i find the remainder of what i'm looking for. hollywood is not just a time capsule, it is a place that quite often takes what is going on in the world and portrays it to the entire globe for many years to come. when the c.c.p. demanded that the taiwanese flag be removed from the iconic jacket of tom cruise's character maverick, which he wears in "top gun" the studio initially capitulated and it was forever emblazoned in time. the studio capitulated on that but stood its ground and kept

the flag. that was a result of patriotism. one of the highest grossing releases of 2022 with a list of long, including an oscar. we need studios like that willing to put beijing in its place. we see that there are muslims held in concentration camps disney decided to film the live action film of "mulan" in jingjang at the behest of c.c.p. films. and they changed the character in dr. strange to a keltic character. this cowardice is profit for something i call being pathetic and why i'm fighting to pass this amendment like we did in last year's ndaa to make sure

that hollywood tries better to show the patriotism that the united states of america has been known for. i guess that would be the best way to put it. be the hollywood that has the back of the united states of america. if hollywood had given dictators the ability to sensor films over the last 80 years we wouldn't have the classics that america has come to love. we may not have the same outcomes in some of the conflicts. so madam speaker i would say if movies are one of our greatest

exports, then they should represent american principles and principles that unite our country. and in that, madam speaker i yield the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields. any members seek recognition? for what purpose does the gentlewoman rise? >> thank you, madam speaker. i rise in strong opposition to this bill. which is blatantly -- the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. >> i strongly oppose this bill which is blatantly counterproductive to u.s. interests in our strategic competition with china. nearly identical legislation was marked up in the foreign affairs committee last year with unanimous vigorous opposition from democrats. this would undermine one of our key advantages in the competition with china, soft power, instead of investing and bolstering this advantage my

republican are bent on undermining one of our biggest cultural strengths, american artists storytellers and filmmakers. it's a knee-jerk reaction to the perennial tension inherent with our relationship with china when our openness meets closed societies and anti-democratic governments. in these cases do we say the prlem is the openness and not the actions of the government seeking to erode it? do we respond by trying to effective by ban our companies from their markets and decimate their ability to operate there? the majority frames competition ideological battle yet they wage this competition by trampling over the very principles that uphold the system they purport to defend. when we start reviewing our strengths as weaknesses because they don't look like our competitors we become the very thing we're working to oppose. most concerning about this amendment is it helps the c.c.p. achieve exactly what it wants. it wants to cut its citizens off from the outside world and have

them consume "wolf warrior 2" instead of "mission impossible." why would we aid the c.c.p. in its goal of removing american cultural influence on its people by urging hollywood to stop showing its films in china? and why would we not want to actively support and aid an industry sharing american stories with the people of china? in trying to be bill somehow becomes pro-c.c.p., forcing u.s. companies out of the chinese film marke state-sponsored chinese studios whose propaganda will have a monopoly on the chinese audience and eliminate one of the most powerful mechanisms for illuminating the weakness of the p.r.c.'s model and showcasing the appeal of open democracy, human rights, and freedom of expression. not to mention the thousands of writers and production workers in my district whose livelihoods would be caught in the crosshairs of

this legislation which impacts my constituents more than anyone else. hollywood is about telling stories that showcase our promise and open doors for empathic thought and they are pretty goodtt. so why would we tie their hands? we should be working to help american films reach chinese audience on freer and fairer terms and not working to punish or shut down our own industries and disadvantage our workers. therefore, i strongly oppose this measure and urge my colleagues to do the same. and with that i yield back the nc my time. i'm reserving. the chair: the gentlewoman has the only time remaining. ms. kamlager-dove: i yield. the chair: the gentlewoman yields back his time and the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from florida. those in favor say aye.

those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair the ayes have it and the amendment is agreed to. the chair understands that amendment number 18 will not be offered. it is now in order to consider amendment 21 printed in part b of house report 118-551. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? mr. roy: i rise as the designee of the gentleman from pennsylvania and i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 21 printed in house report 118-551

offered by mr. roy of texas. the chair: pursuant to hughes resolution 1287, the gentleman from texas mr. roy and a member opposed each will control five minutes and the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. mr. roy: i thank the chair. i do rise on behalf of mr. reschenthaler for an important amendment that prohibits funds to require transportation on the joint travel regulations for uniform service to be in a permissioned vehicle. the joint travel regulations the diplomats laws allowing travel for uniform service members, the department of defense and servicemployees and others traveling at the d.o.d. expense. joint travel experiences have been trying to promote e.v.'s and other service m:=bers to be more green. this amendment like others i'm going to offer in my own name is about restoring the department of defense's focus on its actual

mission which is, you know, to carry out war and engage in battle to kill people and blow stuff up. that's why they exist. the biden administration's inserted climate politics as well as all matters of woke social service engineering politics in all aspects of the department of defense weakening its focus and weakening morale. but in this context, piling up more pressure for e.v.'s piling up on lots. hell you've got half the rental car companies trying to sell off their fleets of e.v.'s because the entire world recognizes the truth, which is they are ineffective for most americans to be able to carry out their daily lives so we're trying to say hell, get in an e.v. in austin texas and drive to midland. except i can't do that. i have to stop. more importantly they're expensive. in fact, a lot of the rental car companies are getting rid of these vehicles because of their cost to repair and a collision are greater. the extent to which they are

more difficult to maintain, greater. all of these things are making it difficult for people to engage in commerce for people to be able to afford their daily lives and now we're using the department of defense to promote more of this agenda. chip a $800 billion authorization, why focus on such an issue where you have these requirements in the travel requirements and policies that they go use certain vehicles? because our men and women in uniform are tired of being used to advance a social engineering experiment. hell they can barely afford to live on this planet as it is. then they want to carry out their lives and travel and go look at some checkbook of crazy radical social engineering policies that are undermining our economy, making their lives more difficult and our department of defense less likely to carry out their jobs. by the way you're actually making it to where china gets empowered, all while we're continuing to make child labor exploited in the cobalt mines in

africa so rich white liberals can pat themselves on the back, i drive a tesla are important? aren't i a good natured lib around in unicornville destroying the average american's way of life and undermining our military in the process. i gladly stand up in defense and support of mr. reschenthaler's amendment and i reser. the chair: the gentleman reserves. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from virginia rise? >> i rise to speak to the amendment and yield myself such time as i need. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. the chair: the gentlewoman is recognized for five minutes. >> this amendment is in temp for a problem as there is currently no effort underfoot or plan to require the use of zero emission vehicles as part of official travel. the terms of the vehicle is broad and it includes hybrid electronic vehicles, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and any new technology that would replace

fossil fuels currently or in the future. and it also advances things like sailboats. and this amendment is written so broadly that if someone went to a rental car company to rent a car and the only thing available was a tesla they might not be able to get reimbursed for itè something we should be micromanaging the department of defense how it does its transportation reimbursement this is a solution in search of a problem. part of house republicans' broader attack on any effort to address climate change and want to divorce climate action from readiness. we have heard time and time again particularly from leadership in the navy that climate change has an impact on readiness. and the department of defense is a contributor to climate change. so any effort to reduce the reliance on fossil fuels any effort to carbon footprint of the military should

be rewarded and encouraged and not proactively prohibited in such a broadway that is counterproductive. with that, i reserve. the chair: the gentlewoman reserves. and the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. roy: who benefits from this rush to so-called green policy. china, one of our greatest political adversaries. it accounts 63% of the rare earth mining and 92 of magnate production and lithium snrie. 673% of cobalt. they get the cobalt and relying on child labor. 95% of mag arch n emp se what is building more coal plants. china is building two coal-fired plants a week. we are building none.

we built one freakin nuclear. because we're stupid. literally, we are so stupid you can't even put it into words and allowing our adversaries to have reliable power and guys have to check, let me look at my check list i got to an e.v. that will do a lot for climate change while china is passing massive amounts through their coal-fired plants all over china. i reserve. the chair: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. mcclellan: one thing we learned in virginia is all encompassing approach to energy is smart and good for national security and good to have energy independence here and includestronic and not just a view that the only fuel available is

fossil fuel. i'm a child of generation i remember "schoolhouse rock" and more we move to renewable energy it's good energy policy and good for national security. but again no one has said to anyone in the military you can only use a zero emission vehicle. they are not planning to do it. this is an amendment that is in sunshine of a problem and could cause harm unintentionally. i reserve. the chair: the gentleman reserves and the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. roy: servicemembers are going to be left stranded thanks to this policy hidden in advancing an agenda. we want the department of defense, our military to be mission nothing more nothing less.

servicemembers need to go out and carry out their lives. i reserve. the chair: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. mcclellan: we want our servicemembers to focus on their job and be ready and climate change is having an impact on readiness. we have heard it. as temperatures rise it feats our servicemembers. as sea level rises navy. navy station norfolk will be subject to major multiple storms every year and when it rains there is a street that goes right down the middle of it that floods and divides the naval station in. we cannot keep our head in the sand on readiness. we need to focus how to fix solutions for problems that don't exist. i yield back. the chair: the gentlewoman yields back. and the gentleman from texas yields back.

the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from tech as. those in favor, say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair the ayes have it. and the amendment is agreed to. it is order to consider amendment number 22 printed in part bmp of house report-551. ms. greene: i have an amendment at the desk. the clerk: amendment number 22 printed in part b of house report 118-551 offered by ms. greene of georgia.

the chair: the gentlewoman from georgia, ms. greene, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. ms. greene: my amendment would say that no funds should be authorized to or to be appropriated in this act or otherwise made available for the department of defense for fiscal year 2025 may be used for electric vehicles or electric vehicle charging infrastructure. ensure that no funds are authorized in this year's ndaa to be used on electric vehicles or electric vehicle charging infrastructure. electric vehicles made up of about 7.6% of u.s. car sales in 2023. and remain a very small percentage of all cars nationwide. and the reason why that is is because they are not popular and not practical and none of americans' tax dollars should be

used our military to be forced to use electric vehicles. there are millions of dollars lost on electric vehicles and began scaling back in electric vehicles to placks targets more in line with consumer dand and that is less than 10. cnbc general motors, mercedes-benz, vote on the volkswagen back or delaying electric vehicle plans. on earth day in 2022, a day not traditionally associated with the grand national security pronouncement, biden said we are going to start the process tore every vehicle in the united states military every vehicle is going to be climate friendly. every vehicle. i mean it. we are spending billions of dollars to do it. energy sector secretary granholm

said the biden administration switched all nontactical military vehicles to electric. that's quite the what my colleagues across the aisle are saying. our military, our department of defense is for the defense of the united states and their mission goal is to protect our national security, not to play climate politics. it is absolutely ludicrous that as we continue to waste precious military resources in ukraine joe biden wants to rely on china which is on track to control the world's lithium by 2025 and to ls for electric vehicles. china currently produces over 80% of the world's batteries and don't need america's military to be dependent on ion china's batteries. this would endanger the lives of

servicemembers and weaken our ability to defend ourselves from attack. it also would waste money on an already failing industry that americans just do not want to take part of. my amendment makes sure this is no longer funded. i reserve. the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman from rise? mr.smith: i yield myself two minutes. this amendment would effectively ban electric vehicles and ban any effort to use them. i will agree that we are a long way off from having all are debating this should even be an option within the military. first of all having options is always a positive thing. energy is important within the military having access to be difficult.

electric vehicles gives you one greater option so you don't have to rely on fossil fuels going forward. more importantly the basic debate over global warming comes down to the belief that digging up fossil fuels from below the ground and burning them is bad for life. there is evidence and placing carbon in the atmosphere that is damaging the planet and we need to come up with alternatives so we are not 100% dependent on fossil fuels. that's the basic plan to save the planet which is important to all of us, certainly to members of the military and the defense of country. eliminating this as an option goes in the wrong direction. the gentlelady is correct, it is an industry that is still struggling. the fossil fuel ind internal combustion engine has

had a head start. but if you build more charging stations or electrical vehicles it becom more affordable and viable. that's the entire point of this. we are not going to build all electric vehicles tomorrow but why wouldn't we want that option to preserve our planet. outright ban on electric vehicles in the military doesn't make sense. i urge rejection and i reserve. the chair: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. greene: joint base andrews micro grid with electric vehicle charging charger 17.9 million. joint base andrews is 10 miles outside of washington ddz. if there was an attack, joint

bows andrews would be responding. are we going to wait for our military members to charge their electric vehicles to come into the nation's capital to defend us in case of an attack. i don't think the american people want to spend 18 million. another base in north carolina is another. micro grid with electric vehicle chargingrawrk -- sphrawrk. another enormous waste of money. where military recruitment numbers are at an all-time embarrassing low americans do not want to spend money to play climate politics. if we are going to spend more our department of defense on our ndaa, why don't we pay more military reruts more money instead of paying for electric vehicles and charging station. that is an embarrassment and

insult to the american people who work hard to pay their taxes. another fact, there's a problem with electric vehicle charging stations. work. a recent number that came out is 1-4 electric vehicle charging stations do not work. this is an development into a system that isn't reliable, isn't proven and is a massive waste of the american people's money. the chair: the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr.smith: i yield two minutes to the gentlelady from virginia, ms. mclellan. ms. mcclellan: thank you. i have goodness in that the ndaa does include a raise for our servicemembers, which is long overdue, but we can multi task and for all the reasons that ranking member smith said we

need to our planet because it will have longer term and national security implications for the readiness of our servicemembers which we heard in our committee time and time again. in addition to the climate benefit, e.v.'s emit less noise and heat. they improve flexibility and decrease our reliance on fossil fuels so should supplies be compromised, our armed forces can respond because they have more options available. and yet republicans want to play politics with climate not the democrats. we are working to address climate change. we are looking to respond to climate change and make sure that our military remains ready and does not contribute to global warming itself. . . . .