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mr. cotton: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from arkansas. mr. cotton: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cotton: i ask unanimous consent that the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cotton: today i would like to recognize thomas galagon of arkansas as this week's arkansan of the week for his advocacy work with the arkansas chapter of the national a.l.s. association. tom was diagnosed with a.l.s. in 2014 and has been a tireless advocate ever since. tom isn't one to let a.l.s. hold him back. in fact, after spending 30 successful years in the tourism industry, tom decided retirement wasn't for him and went back to work as the property manager.

the a.l.s. association is headquartered in the very building tom manages making his commitment to the organization that much stronger. recently, i had the opportunity to meet with tom when he came to washington to advocate on behalf of the a.l.s. association. we had a long conversation where i learned about his story and the other americans living with a.l.s. tom asked me to address the problems ear l.s. patients encounter when dealing with insurance. a bill that would waive the five-month waiting period to receive disability insurance benefits for those living with a.l.s. while the waiting period may be prudent in many cases, for a.l.s. is consumes a lot of the remaining life expectancies once you get a diagnosis.

we now have nine sponsors and i am hopeful as we gain more support this bill will move forward and eventually become law. in a testimony about his journey with a.l.s., tom writes, "until there is a treatment or cure for a.l.s., i will continue to be an avid advocate for change in government policies and procedures that affect all a.l.s. patients in a negative way." i want to encourage all arkansans to take a lesson from tom's words. advocacy works. there is a bill or a regulatory matter that impacts your life, i want to hear about it. become an advocate, contact my office, and tell me your story. it's part of my job to represent you in the united states senate. tom's journey is a remarkable one. he has not let the unexpected discourage him. he's used his diagnosis to teach others about a.l.s. and bring us crowser to a cure. as tom himself always says, "blue skies always." think that's a mantra everyone

in the senate and arkansas could adopt, too. it is my honor to recognize thomas galagon as this week's arckian of the week -- arkansan of the week. i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

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ms. collins: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from maine. ms. collins: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that proceedings under the call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. collins: thank you, madam president. i rise to speak in support of fiscal year 2017 national defense authorization act, a bill upon which we have fortunately invoked cloture today, which i hope will allow

us to proceed to finish this vitally important legislation. i wish to commend both chairman mccain and ranking member reed for their leadership as they work together. their bill puts us on a path toward addressing the myriad threats that we face today. in fact, madam president, in my years in the senate, it is difficult to think of a time in which we face more threats from more different adversaries around the world. these national security challenges include the challenges posed by isis as it continues to control territory in key cities in syria and iraq and spreads to other countries such as libya and nigeria. al qaeda and other islamic

extremist terrorist groups determined to attack our country and our allies. russia's aggressive operations in ukraine, the baltics and syria. and china's aggressive military activities in the south china sea. this bill funds programs that ensure our nation's continued presence and deterrence missions, including $271 million to help complete the construction of two ddg-1,000 destroyers. these ships provide capabilities including stealth technology, electric propulsion and a smaller crew size. the navy recently accepted delivery of the first ddg-1000, the zumwalt, a major milestone

for this revolutionary program. given the ship's cutting-edge technology, unique hull, and advanced combat systems, the shipbuilders at bath iron works in my state should be commended for their exceptional work and dedication in building the largest naval destroyer and the most advanced naval destroyer in history. the bill before us also includes $3.2 billion for the procurement of two arleigh burke class destroyers as part of a multiyear procurement contract as well as incremental funding for a third fiscal year 2016 flight 3 destroyer. this much-needed additional destroyer, which ranks number two on the navy's unfunded priorities list, will be built

at bath iron works. as the workhorses of the navy, these destroyers help ensure that our navy's capabilities remain unrivaled in delivering power and presence across the globe. from freedom of navigation missions in the south china sea to addressing iranian aggression in the strait of hormuz, these ships signal to enemies and allies alike that the united states navy is ready to respond wherever and whenever it is needed. after years of advocacy, i'm pleased that this legislation also includes an important provision that requires the department of defense to finally comply with the amendment by

outfitting new recruits with high-quality athletic shoes made in america by skilled american workers. this amendment sponsored by my colleague, senator king, is based upon stand-alone legislation that i introduced with my colleague from maine. it is good not only for our troops, but also for american manufacturing. it is time to stop relying on goods manufactured in foreign countries that outfit those who wear the uniform of our nation. it is past time for the department's circumvention of the amendment to be ended when it comes to athletic footwear. madam president, this bill also provides for investments in our public shipyards which are strategic assets for our national security.

for portsmouth naval shipyard in maine $18 million is included for unaccompanied housing, $30 million for utility improvements, for nuclear platforms and $27 million to construct a replacement for a medical and dental unit that is in a building that is 100 years old and does not meet current safety standards. as the senior member of the military construction and veterans affairs appropriations subcommittee, i'm pleased that these authorizations match the funding included in our military construction and v.a. spending bill that passed the senate overwhelmingly a few weeks ago. these investments at the

portsmouth naval shipyard will result in the high-quality facilities that shipyard personnel deserve as they maintain repair and modernize our nuclear submarine fleet. the bill also provides resources necessary to help our allies and partners around the world. i'm pleased that it would authorize $50 million for a u.s.-israel antitunneling cooperation program. the terrorist organization hamas continues to construct tunnels from gaza to israel which have been used by terrorists to sneak across the border and carry out attacks on israeli citizens. meanwhile, we have the problem of iran which has continued to defy a u.n. security council resolution on its ballistic

missile program by conducting flight testing of missiles that are inherently capable of delivering nuclear weapons that could some day reach the united states. they already are capable of reaching israel which is why this bill's continued support for the u.s.-israeli cooperative missile defense programs is so important. i'm pleased to note that the national defense authorization act contains several measures supporting our service members who perform the important missions we assign them. these provisions include a 1.6% pay raise and reauthorization of bonuses and special pay to help encourage retention. i know that this has been a real problem for example for the air force in retaining the pilots that it needs who oftentimes can

make so much more money and have far easier missions and hours in the private sector. i filed an amendment, madam president, as i did last year to strike a provision in this bill that would unfairly discriminate against women service members. the provision mandates that if two or more service members live in the same house, the amount of the basic allowance for housing payable to each member would be divided by the total number of members in the house. that means that in cases where a service member resides with his or her active duty spouse or if a member resides with military roommates, each would purr -- proportionately lose his or her stipend for housing under this bill.

this disproportionately affects female service members because 20% of them are married to another service member. in contrast, fewer than 4% of active duty men are married to active duty women service members. i hope that we can change this provision. other provisions of this bill would provide additional protections for survivors of sexual assault to move closer to the goal of translating the military's stated policy of zero tolerance into reality. specifically, the bill would create a new punitive article in the uniform code of military justice that criminalizes acts of retaliation. the article would hold service members accountable if they threaten or take adverse

personnel action against those who report or plan to report retaliation. finally, this bill would direct the pentagon to rein in unnecessary and wasteful spending by real estate ducing the number -- reducing the number of general and flag officers by 25%. this is an issue that i've been working on with chairman mccain since 2012, and i'm pleased to see the continued focus on ending the practice of rank inflation. i should mention that i have the greatest respect for the high-ranking officials as well as for all who serve in our military, but this is an issue that we do need to deal with, and you believe that this bill -- and i believe that this bill strikes the appropriate balance. we owe it to the taxpayers to assess every efficiency and use

every cost-saving measure while also ensuring the security of our nation. i thank you, madam president, for your patience. i know the senate is soon to adjourn. i urge support of this important bill, and i would note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

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