[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 130 (Thursday, July 23, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4465-S4466]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FY2021 NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT
Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to express my support for
the National Defense Authorization Act, which passed the Senate today
with strong bipartisan support, and to highlight a number of its
important provisions, as well as amendments that I have authored to
support robust shipbuilding and to ensure the Navy is prepared for
future pandemics.
The NDAA represents one of Congress's most important
responsibilities. For the past 59 consecutive years, Congress has come
together in a bipartisan manner to craft this annual legislation. The
NDAA authorizes funding to support our brave military members serving
overseas, including a 3 percent pay raise for our troops in this year's
bill, and sets policy for our Nation's military and critical national
defense priorities. I commend Chairman Inhofe and Ranking Member Reed
for their leadership and bipartisan work on this important legislation,
which contains many provisions important to Maine and the Nation. Let
me emphasize how proud I am of Maine's many contributions to our
national defense.
I am pleased that the NDAA includes authorization for two Arleigh-
Burke destroyers, one of which will be built by the highly skilled men
and women at Bath Iron Works. In Maine, we are very proud of the vital
role that Bath Iron Works plays in contributing to our national
security. BIW is known throughout the fleet for the high-quality of its
ships, proving time and again that ``Bath Built is Best Built.''
To ensure we have the ships we need to provide for a strong national
defense, the bill also contains an amendment I authored with Senator
King as my cosponsor, which would prohibit the Navy from reducing the
current 104-ship destroyer requirement unless the Secretary submits a
formal certification and report to Congress justifying such a change.
This process would require the Secretary of the Navy to certify that
any proposed reductions in the number of ships would not jeopardize our
national security and that the Navy would be able to
[[Page S4466]]
mitigate any reduction in anti-air and ballistic missile defense
capabilities if the number of DDG-51 destroyers were in fact reduced
from current plans. My intention is to ensure that we continue to
maintain a strong Navy capable of projecting power and maintaining
presence anywhere across the globe.
In January, when news began to leak that the Department's budget
request would dramatically reduce procurement of DDG-51's in the 5-year
budget plan, I sent a letter to Defense Secretary Esper expressing my
strong objections. To date, the Navy has still not adequately justified
such deep cuts in ship procurement, which would have devastating
effects on our defense industrial base, including our private
shipyards. This amendment and this bill will help to protect our
shipbuilding industrial base, which will be essential to reach the goal
of a 355-ship Navy.
This bill also includes important provisions for the Portsmouth Naval
Shipyard in Kittery. The NDAA authorizes $160 million for the first
phase of funding for PNSY's Multi-Mission Dry Dock No. 1 extension
military construction project, which will be authorized and funded over
3 years due to its large size. This project will ensure our Nation's
submarines stay well maintained and at sea for years to come.
In addition, the NDAA contains provisions I championed along with
Senator Shaheen, which will help our PNSY firefighters develop
alternative work schedules and exempt public shipyard workers from
DOD's government lodging program when it would adversely affect their
mission.
In further support of both our public and private shipyards, the bill
also includes an amendment I authored that directs the Navy to report
on its plans to prevent and mitigate the impacts of future pandemics,
including at private and public shipyards, by focusing on the health
and safety of the shipyard workers. Amidst the current COVID-19
pandemic, I led a number of bipartisan letters from the Maine
delegation and spoke with the Secretary of the Navy to encourage the
Department to do more to protect our shipyard workers' health and
safety. My amendment continues that effort, and I again thank Chairman
Inhofe and Ranking Member Reed for adopting it as part of their
substitute amendment.
This NDAA also makes continued investments in America's air power,
authorizing 95 fifth-generation Joint Strike Fighter aircraft and seven
CH-53K King Stallion helicopters. The workers at Pratt & Whitney's
North Berwick factory are proud of their contributions in making the F-
35's top-of-line engine the best in the sky, and Hunting Dearborn in
Fryberg has been making important contributions to both the F-35 and
CH-53K programs for years.
The NDAA also provides important authorizations for the Maine
National Guard, including a provision ensuring that Maine Guard members
who were activated to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic can receive
transitional health benefits. The Maine National Guard has done a
phenomenal job supporting our State during the health crisis, taking on
tasks such as fit-testing healthcare workers for N95 masks, helping the
Maine CDC inventory its supplies and deliver PPE and ventilators across
the State, and setting up an external triage tent outside of the Togus
VA Medical Center.
This bill also provides authorization for an important perimeter
security construction project at the Navy's detachment in Cutler,
Maine, which will ensure the security of an important installation that
allows Navy commanders to communicate with U.S. and NATO ships, planes,
and submarines operating in the Atlantic. This project was the Navy's
No. 1 unfunded military construction priority.
There are so many other provisions of this bill that I am proud to
support. Just to identify a few, the United States-Israel Security
Assistance Authorization Act of 2020, which I cosponsored, was
incorporated into the bill and would authorize important security
assistance, energy and agricultural cooperation, and provide other
authorities to support our steadfast ally Israel.
Another amendment I offered which was incorporated into the bill
would require DOD to study its military requirements for negative air
pressure room containment systems which are used to isolate patients
with contagious illnesses, necessary equipment I believe is essential
for DOD to successfully combat and contain future pandemics.
The bill also authorizes the creation of a new Pacific Deterrence
Initiative to provide increased security assistance and engagement
throughout the Indo-Pacific region in response to an increasingly
aggressive Chinese Communist Party.
Enactment of this NDAA is vitally important for the security of our
Nation, our servicemembers and their families. I look forward to the
Senate's conference with the House and quickly sending the final fiscal
year 2021 NDAA to the President's desk.
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