murkowksi: this provision in ndaa was in addition to that. sec. wormuth: my understanding, i am not an expert, there is concern with osd that we will be double counting. i would be happy to work with you and your office if you think the amount of the current incentive is not sufficient. i think there is concern from osd about creating a second -- sen. murkowksi: we need to talk about this quickly. this is not about double dip, this is about addressing the realities that come when you are in these cold weather and environments. and the ability to take care of yourself and your family. sec. wormuth: the travel piece is in draft right now, i've heard personally from soldiers how important it is to fly home. i will commit to you to look to see if we can speed that up. there is no issue, it's just going through the process. sen. murkowksi: these are questions i will be asked when i'm up there. the more information the better. >> thank you mr. chair, thank you both for being here, i appreciate your service. i would add my voice of concern for the accide

perhaps attached to the ndaa and other must pass legislation. host: we have another 15 minutes or so and we are talking about the week ahead in washington and another busy week. this is teddy from wilson, north carolina, independent. caller: has she heard of any talk in washington about starting to treat guns like cars? we need to pay money on it and everything just like we do cars, that would raise money and then you confuse that with the red flag laws. i don't know why they look at this little bitty stuff. the second thing is i noticed that over the past years, we have sanctioned all these countries and made them poor. now, they're coming over here in creating this problem. we absorbed 4 million of these immigrants. these people are building of neighborhoods in my town and there's nothing wrong with them coming here. it was just mothers day and americans were going out to eat and going out to restaurants. some mothers travel hundreds of miles over here and you talk about guns. guest: the legislative solutions on guns are extremely tricky now.

let me ask a couple of questions about provisions within the 2023 ndaa, section 603, we authorized some poles that we're hoping will improve the quality of life and the soldiers that are stationed in alaska. i have been told that right now there are-- there has been no guidance released for how and when these new policies are going to be implemented and my concern is, is that we have service members that are missing out on some of these time limited incentives that are again, designed to help alleviate some of the hardships that are inherent with being in the north. one is the provision that allows for cold weather special duty pay and the second is the requirement that the secretary reimburse eligible service members for the cost of air fare to travel to their home of record when they're aligned to alaska as a duty station. can you give me any information in terms of when soldiers can expect to receive either the cold weather pay or, again, receiving the reimbursement for eligible travel? >> yes, on the cold weather pay, the army has actually been providing cold weather pay to soldiers

that has to be part of what we do in the ndaa and a appropriations process.ber one issue that this country needs to focus more on. but you need a willing partner in the white house. and joe biden has had a soft on china policy. kevin mccarthy tried hard to get spending cuts in there, to get caps in there, to do as much as he could for the irs, rescinding that money but joe biden is not moving. >> well, he moves some on this bill and he's going to have to move some on the a appropriations bills. you're right about the fact that he has literally given a blind eye towards china, won't even confront china on so many fronts, militarily, economically and yet we are. we made it very clear. when we put the select committee together on china, we got buy bn buy-in. there are democrats that recognize the threat too. there's some that don't. if you look at the makeup of the committee it's people that realize that china's a major threat and we're doing this on the oversight side look at jim jordan and jamie comer and the work their committees are doing to expose this whol

the ndaa also included -- and further military personnel reductions. together, we are updating our medical requirement. we are conducting a comprehensive internal review with our colleagues in the military requirement on the best medical infrastructure and personnel for the long term. we are resolute in our commitment to ensure commanders that the medical resources necessary to protect, treat, and provide long-term services to our men and women in uniform. we are also committing resources to the ongoing challenge of suicide both among uniformed service and family members. we recently received a recommendation from the suicide prevention and response independent review committee and are continuing to implement strategies that can help reverse the heartbreaking trends that we have witnessed both in dod and in the nation. the department remains grateful for the long-term support from this committee, for our military medical research. in those areas of most pressing need, that includes infectious diseases, combat casualties, and other areas of importance t

if he doesn't like the dod policy, then he can engage in the ndaa legislative process to change it. it's coming up. you're going to have your chance to do that. the nominations that my colleague is holding represent experienced professionals who if confirmed will tackle some of the biggest challenges that our military faces. in some cases the positions are completely vacant, and that job just isn't being done at all. i will only talk about a few of these nominations today. but the already long list grows each month. in a melt i will ask the senate -- moment i will ask the senate to confirm a lieutenant general and the deputy chief of staff g4 of the united states army. the army chief develops, impments and oversees army strategy, policy, plans, and programming for logistics and sustainment. some of the most challenging, if not the most challenging issues for the army to address. take it from a broken down old soldier. logistics might not be sexy but without them, the army doesn't run. and the logistics and sustainment needs of tomorrow's fight will be very different from those of th

one thing we have a chance to get done outside of a farm bill than an ndaa, i think it is some kind of substantial permitting reform for it i think we have a chance to do it. brigham: can we talk about hr1 for a minute, because a lot of americans are not familiar with it. it is a republican proposal. what all does it do? if it were passed by the senate. rep. armstrong: well, it was a combination of lots of different bills. a lot of them ran through natural resources. i can talk specifically about the ones that ran through energy and commerce, you know, one of my bills was in there, which is a cross-border permitting bill. we get a lot of economic activities going both ways across the border. this is not a keystone xl bill. there's only one company in the world that can build keystone xl, and they scrapped the deal and made economic decisions. but there are seven or eight other cross-border projects that exist, some of them replacing existing lines, some of the new lives. the only unique thing about the keystone xl, two, it was the most vetted pipeline industry and the only one that can

maybe this ends because he gets a vote in the ndaa or something.sarily something that can happen soon. so could mcconnell talk him out of it, that's probably the fastest way. >> again, in the conservative media echo chamber he's holding up biden so therefore he thinks he's winning. >>> today 8 1/2 year prison sentence for an oath keeper, jessica watkins an army veteran who committed january 6th crimes. yesterday rhodes was sentenced to 18 years in prison for leading that far reaching plot to keep president trump in power after he lost the 2020 election. the second oath keeper the leader of the florida contingent was sentenced to four years in prison. we made an error yesterday when we were reporting the 10 sentencing. three others were sentenced for their involvement yesterday, bradley and matthew mckousky and nicholas. on a graphic we listed them as members of the oath keepers. there's been no evidence they were members, but that graphic was a mistake and we regret it. >>> up next republican relief. a prominent election denier says he'll not run f

we did ask in the ndaa last year our military to look at options in event of a conflict with china tochoke off or an gas supplies. do that.could. if you have any thoughts on that maybe we should talk about it in a classified setting. >> i do have thoughts, senator. to start on russia, weaponizing energy, i think you have used it as a carrot and stick. they have made a painful for our european partners early in the war and they offered it to other partners, the fairies partners for nefarious reasons to acquire more military hardware. your comment about weaponization is really, really accurate. i don't disagree with you china fears us aboutha our potential r energy production increased to i think they a lot of our economic power all the time. to the point in the ndaa, i think those really are in a preview of the indopacom team and their planning efforts as that proceeds, and then we can talk more in the closed session >> thank you, mr. chairman. >> we have a vote going on from the benefit of my colleagues. i would suggest we reconvene into 17 at 12:15, give you an opportunity to reorgan

they finally got that right in last december's ndaa. congress must insure the new jurisdiction implies to all f.b.i. retaliation cases. many have been wending their way for years through d.o.j.'s long and extensive process. the laws prohibiting retaliation have been on the books the entire time. the f.b.i. can't claim these are new rights because they have to justify their actions before the nspd. time has demonstrated it was a mistake to exclude the f.b.i. from the standard whistleblower protection process and discourages integrity and encourages corruption. congress should treat the f.b.i. the same as all other federal law enforcement agencies giving its employees act -- the hard working employees of the f.b.i. deserve equal protection of the law. f.b.i.'s latest troubling practice is suspending security clearances to retaliate against whistleblowers. mr. friend and mr. allen and mr. o boil are examples of this trend. when the f.b.i. suspends a clearance it suspends the employee without pay. to make matters worse it holds them and the

i did lead an effort in the ndaa which is the authorization act of the defense department to make surewe had the appropriations or money to be able to train ukrainian pilots in the f-16. i think that the administration is not as rapidly moving forward as i would like, but i also want to make sure that we're being as clint and thoughtful as we can do -- deliberate and thoughtful as we can be. griff: do you think they'll make a difference? you are a member of the military yourself, you served, and so you would well know that america goes to the no wars without close air support. our troops on the ground are supported from the skies. is this a game-changer or just another chapter? >> exactly. it's hard to kind of speculate what would it have looked like had they had these f-16s or otherwise before knowing the months before it's hard opec is late necessarily what it will mean in terms of changing now, but i do agree with with the administration in saying that this is going to be a longer game than we ever anticipated it would be, and we want to make sure we're giving the ukrainian military

to the point in the ndaa, i think those really are in the purview of the indo pacom team and planningforts as that proceeds and then we can talk more in the closed session. >> thank you, mr. chairman. we have a vote going on for the benefit of my colleagues, i would suggest that we reconvene in sbc 21712:15 giving an opportunity to reorganize a bit and i will at this point adjourn the open session and we'll reconvene at 12:15. thank you very much. >> thank you, sir. [inaudible conversations] ♪♪ >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government. who are funded by these television companies and more, including sparklight. >> the greatest town on earth is the place you call home. at sparklight it's our home, too, and right now we're all facing our greatest challenge. that's why sparklight is working around the clock to keep you connected. we're doing our part so it's easier to do yours. >> sparklight suppos c-span as a public service along with these other television

we wrote it along with senator johnson in the 2019 ndaa, and certainly that information is important. if you don't have a full measure of what you're dealing with, then it's difficult to know how to properly resource it. so my question for you, director wray, is can you please tell me specifically what in the fiscal year 24 budget request demonstrates that the fbi is prioritizing a response to this significant domestic terrorism threat. >> i appreciate the question, and i have found our conversations on this topic to be very productive and helpful. and i know homeport and desist you. in the fiscal 24 budget, we have requested an enhancement. that's on top of base funding, which is quite significant to this issue. the 13 million dollar counterterrorism enhancement would augment our ability to address investigative requirements, provide sophisticated tools necessary to proactively counter the threats. so we could do everything from increasing our investigative capacity, facilitating information sharing, identifying emerging trends. trying to get better ahead of the threat, and to enhanc

every year for 50 years, we have passed without fail the ndaa, the national defense pact and they will do it again this year. they're working on it now. that is the good news, that you will have the leaders of the two parties the house and the senate. and i think appropriations by the way ladies, for the first time in history, the top women -- the top members of the proportions committees, democrat and republican, house and senate, are all women. and they're good. [applause] i think they are going to get this job done. i was talking to susan collins recently and i said how are you going to get this done? she said in june we are going to take the pills one by one. that's the way you do it. you just start taking them up and you stick with it until you get them done. i think they may get the appropriations bills done this year instead of one of these huge on the best bills or continued resolutions just continuing at the current level which is right dangerous. so there is good news out there. but i do think that we need to get all of our leaders to sit down and assess where we are spending

so the legislation was already signed into law through ndaa.an you provide me with an eight on the implementation of that law and what steps the state department is taking to expedite the delivery of arms to the indo pacific partners and allies, especially our allies who are facing threats from the prc and north korea? >> madame chairwoman, thank you for your question on this, specifically about the backlog in arms sales to taiwan. i can assure you the u.s. government and state department are committed to meeting our obligations on the taiwan relations act to assist taiwan and maintaining a sufficient self-defense capability. last year we notified 13 different sales to taiwan which is the largest single number of notifications for taiwan uh in the last 20 years. i would say there are production and delivery delays worldwide not just for taiwan but for other partners. we're working expeditiously to get through those but i would also say sometimes i think that the notion that there is a long backlog can be misleading because when we notify the co

toll created in the 2020 ndaa to include all military housing as well as improving reporting requirements to ensure accountability. as an army dad i know the challenge our service men and women face to find safe and comfortable housing. they should be confident that when an issue arises, it will be addressed in a timely manner. this bill will improve oversight with the goal of fixing a system with serious issues. given the ongoing recruitment and retention challenges in our armed forces, ensuring adequate housing for service members and their families is an important, necessary part of the solution. thank you, mr. speaker, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: thank you very much. for what purpose does the gentlelady from pennsylvania seek recognition? >> mr. speaker -- mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady from pennsylvania is recognized for one minute. >> thank you. i rise today to commemorate the life and legacy of dr. nicolas balut

two the point in the ndaa think those are in the purview of what the pacom team and their planning efforts is that proceeds and then we can talk more closed session. we have a vote going on with my colleagues. i would suggest we reconvene at 12:15 to have an opportunity to re-organize a bit and i will at this point adjourned the open session and we will reconvene at 12:15. thank you very much. [inaudible conversations]

perhaps attached to the ndaa and other must pass legislation. host: we have another 15 minutes or so and we are talking about the week ahead in washington and another busy week. this is teddy from wilson, north carolina, independent. caller: has she heard of any talk in washington about starting to treat guns like cars? we need to pay money on it and everything just like we do cars, that would raise money and then you confuse that with the red flag laws. i don't know why they look at this little bitty stuff. the second thing is i noticed that over the past years, we have sanctioned all these countries and made them poor. now, they're coming over here in creating this problem. we absorbed 4 million of these immigrants. these people are building of neighborhoods in my town and there's nothing wrong with them coming here. it was just mothers day and americans were going out to eat and going out to restaurants. some mothers travel hundreds of miles over here and you talk about guns. guest: the legislative solutions on guns are extremely tricky now.

secretary austin, section 12 62 of last year's ndaa required that both the department of defense andstate submit a comprehensive report on the bilateral access agreements to congress. these are agreements with overflight basing agreements, agreements for logistics support, or refuelling support. that report is doing a couple of weeks. will it be on time? >> it will. >> great. >> how many planned cooperative security locations forward operating locations or fuel support points require access agreements that currently do not exist? >> as you know, there are a number of agreements that we continue to pursue. of course, when the need arises, when an operation is being conducted, no matter what, even if we have agreements we will have to go back in to that country and request those. we have done something as recently to increase our locations that we're operating with our allies and partners in the region. for example, the philippines, a good example of that. we continue to work with countries like japan and australia to ensure that we can rotate forces in and out. and so we are making si

they finally got that right in last december's ndaa. congress must ensure that the new jurisdiction applies to all fbi retaliation cases. many have been when the way for years through doj's long an extensive process. but the laws prohibiting were tell you should have been on the books that entire time. the fbi cannot claim now that these are new rights just because we now have to justify their actions. as demonstrated, in my opinion, it was a mistake to exclude the fbi from the standard whistleblower protection process. it discourages integrity and encourages the defeat and corruption. congress should treat the fbi the same as all other federal law enforcement agencies, eliminating a special exception, and giving it someplace access to investigate retaliation. the hardworking employees of the fbi deserve equal protection of the law. fbi's latest troubling practice is suspending security clearance to retaliate against whistleblowers. friend and mr. allen, purchased several public examples of this trend. when the fbi suspended clarence, t

last year the 2023ndaa -- 2023 ndaa spent five months in limbo, even at the 11th hour the democratic leader refused to bring the senate's own bill to the floor. they took an informal conference between our colleagues on the armed services committee and the house counterparts just to get the must-pass bill over the finish line. our democratic friends like to invoke america's competition with china whenever they're seeking to justify huge outlays of domestic spending. but they push the nuts and bolts of actually defending america to the back burner. case in point, chairman chairmat announced that they'll wait an entire month before beginning consideration of this year's ndaa. you can bet china isn't waiting around and twiddling its thumbs, but apparently leader schumer's senate will do just that. what would the democratic majority have us do instead? our colleagues are making a push for a grab bag of leftist domestic priorities they call another china bill. let's remember the last so-called china bill that we just passed last year. commerce secretary and other biden administration offi

congress should step up and add funding for amphibious ships in this year's ndaa. the multiyear block buys would also signal demand to the shipbuilding industry. these programs will be difficult and will of course cost money. but failing to complete them will facilitate china's advance and be much more difficult and much more expensive in the long run. we are in our most dangerous national security moment since world war ii. we are in our most dangerous security moment since world war ii, madam president, and we must urgently restore our naval deterrent to meet the moment. others have recognized this throughout our history. reflecting on the dark days of world war ii in early 1942, winston churchill wrote, the foundation of all our hopes and dreams was the immense shipbuilding program of the united states. once again, the peace and security of the free world depends on our navy. we need to rebuild it with haste. thank you, madam president. the presiding officer: the senior senator from ohio. mr. brown: thank you, madam president. it is an honor to join my colleague