ms. warren: i ask that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. warren: thank you, mr. president. i rise to speak in opposition to the national defense authorization act. as written, this legislation authorizes $778 billion in defense spending just for next year alone. that is more money than we spent on defense during the korean or vietnamese wars. it is even more money than we spent at the height of the extraordinary reagan defense buildup in the 1980's. now congress is set to pass this bill with virtually no debate and with virtually no discussion about how much money we're spending. congress keeps the spigot of cash wide open so long as it's for defense. and please note that not one single dollar of this huge defense budget will be offset either with new taxes or with new spending cuts someplace else. meanwhile, do you know how much money the president's build back better plan will cost on average each year if congress passes it? $175 billion. that is about one-fifth the size of this defense bill. and unlike this defense bill, every single doll