John McCain

Mr. McCAIN

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. McCAIN. Will the Senator yield for a question?

Mr. McCAIN. Is it my understanding from the Senator's statement that Secretary Kerry is now saying that was not an accurate quote of his----

Mr. McCAIN. That it was not urgent that the previous activities concerning the development of nuclear weapons would be absolutely required?

Mr. McCAIN. Could I ask additionally this: Did the Senator from South Carolina have an opportunity to ask Secretary Kerry about the latest information concerning Iranians who are now supplying weapons to the Taliban--the same Taliban that has killed many hundreds of Americans and wounded thousands of others? In other words, did you have a chance to ask the Secretary why we are pursuing this agreement while the Iranians' latest activity is supplying arms to the Taliban to kill Americans; the support of the Shiite militias in Iraq; the support of the Houthis in other countries, including Yemen; the support of the Iranians for Hezbollah in Lebanon, which in Syria is killing off the Free Syrian Army forces that we are supporting; and the continued development by Iran of a nuclear warhead and the vehicle with which to deliver it? I wonder if the Senator from South Carolina had the chance to ask the Secretary of State about those events and situations that exist in the Middle East today.

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding Rule XXII, the time until 4 p.m. today be equally divided between the managers or their designees; that at 4 p.m. all post-cloture time be expired; further, that if cloture is invoked on H.R. 1735, that the time count as if it was invoked at 10 p.m. tonight and that the mandatory quorum call with respect to this cloture motion be waived.

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, shortly we will have a vote. I would like to say a few words about the legislation before we do. How much time is remaining?

Mr. McCAIN. I say to my colleagues, this Defense Authorization Act is a reform bill. I repeat: It is a reform bill--a reform bill that will enable our military to rise to the challenges of a more dangerous world both today and in the future. It tackles acquisition reform, military retirement reform, personnel reform, headquarters and management reform. We identified $10 billion of excess and unnecessary spending from the President's budget request. We are reinvesting it in military capabilities for our warfighters and reforms that can yield long-term savings for the Department of Defense. We did all of this while upholding our commitments to our servicemembers, retirees, and their families. On acquisition reform, we put the services back into the acquisition process, created new mechanisms to ensure accountability for results, streamlined regulation, and opened up the defense acquisition process to our Nation's innovators. On military reform, we modernized and improved our military retirement system. Today, 83 percent of servicemembers leave the service with no retirement assets or benefits. Under this new plan, 75 percent of servicemembers would get benefits. This reform, over time, is estimated to save $15 billion per year in the outyears. On management reform, we ensure that the Department of Defense and the military services are using precious defense dollars to fulfill their missions and defend the Nation, not expand their bloated staffs. Targeted reductions in headquarters and administrative staff in this legislation--which is a 7.5-percent mandated reduction per year, up to a 30-percent reduction in the size of headquarters and administrative staff--will generate $1.7 billion in savings just for fiscal year 2016. With these savings and billions more identified throughout the bill, we accelerated shipbuilding, added an upgraded fighter aircraft, invested in key modernization priorities across the services, and met our commanders' most urgent needs. As adversaries threaten our military technological advantage, the bill looks to the future and invests in new breakthrough technologies, including directed energy and unmanned combat aircraft. The legislation is a reflection of the growing threats we face in the world. The legislation authorizes nearly $3.8 billion in support for Afghan security forces as they continue to defend their country in the gains of the last decade against our common enemies. The legislation authorizes the provision of defensive lethal assistance to Ukraine to help it build combat capability and defend its sovereign territory. It supports the efforts by Lebanon and Jordan to secure their borders against ISIL. It creates a new initiative to help Southeast Asian nations build maritime domain awareness capabilities to address growing sovereignty challenges in the South China Sea. This is an ambitious piece of legislation, but in the times we live in, that is exactly what we need. Henry Kissinger told our committee earlier this year that our Nation faces the most diverse and complex array of crises since the end of World War II. Rising to these challenges requires bold reform to our national defense. This legislation represents a strong first step in that direction. As I said, this is a reform bill. This is an authorizing bill. This brings about much needed reforms. I cannot go to the people of Arizona and justify defense spending when there is a $2.4 billion cost overrun on an aircraft carrier, when there are a number of weapons systems which billions of dollars have been invested in and which have never become reality. That system has to be reformed. That is what this bill does. We have to reform our military retirement system. We allow people, after just 2 years of service, to contribute to their own retirement. Today, they have to wait 20 years in order to do that. We upgrade fighter aircraft. We tell the defense industry that they cannot have those cost overruns. If there are cost overruns, the service chiefs have to personally sign that they know of, are aware of, and are taking action to prevent further cost overruns. So there is a lot in this legislation. It is an authorizing legislation. That is why it disturbs me a great deal to hear my colleagues on the other side of the aisle saying they want to vote against it because of OCO. That is not sufficient reason in these times. If they want to fight against OCO, the place to do it--the overseas contingency operation money which brings up authorizing spending to the same level that the President has requested--if they want to do that, then let's have that fight in another arena. But let's not take away from the men and women who are serving in this military the equipment and the training and the leadership that is demanded in the world as it is today--in the words of Henry Kissinger, more diverse and complex array of crises since the end of World War II. So I urge all of my colleagues to restate their commitment to the defense of this Nation by voting in favor of this legislation and cloture prior to that. I urge my colleagues--all of them--to understand that we can fight about this funding situation, the need to repeal sequestration--sequestration is destroying our military's capability to defend this Nation. Every uniformed service leader who appeared before the Armed Services Committee said that with sequestration, we are putting the lives of the men and women in uniform at greater risk. We should not do that. We ask young men and women to volunteer for the military, and yet we here in Congress won't take action to keep them from being placed in greater danger. That is an abrogation of our responsibility. This bill does not fix all that, but it certainly is a major step in the right direction. Almost all of this legislation was done on a bipartisan basis. There were literally--there were some small disagreements, but overall the committee together. Now, at the behest of their leadership and perhaps the President of the United States, they are so torqued up about OCO that they may vote against this legislation's passage, and that, my friends, is an abrogation of their responsibility to the men and women who are serving this country. If they choose to vote against this legislation on the grounds that they are opposed to the funding mechanism used to do so, then they have their priorities upside down, and I intend to tell the American people about it because I believe that we are not serving the men and women who are serving this country to the best of their ability and not receiving the support they need and deserve from the Senate of the United States of America. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. McCAIN. I yield to the Chair. Vote on Amendment No. 1911, as Further Modified

Mr. McCAIN

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I am pleased to cosponsor legislation introduced by my colleague, Senator Jeff Flake, that would fix a mapping error involving the transfer of Forest Service land to Young Life's Lost Canyon Camp in northern Arizona. The bill, S. 1592, would amend the Northern Arizona Land Exchange and Verde River Basin Partnership Act of 2005, P.L. 109-110, to clarify that Congress intended that Young Life could purchase at fair market value a full 237.5 acres of national forest land in the Kaibab National Forest as Congress intended. The Forest Service says there is an error in the Forest Service map referenced in the 2005 Act that has omitted about 25 acres from the land conveyance. This error appears to be preventing the Forest Service and Young Life from finalizing the transfer. Each year, nearly 5,000 young campers spend their summer at the Lost Canyon Camp, and this land conveyance is needed to expand the camp and create a buffer zone around the camp. I urge my colleagues to pass this clarifying legislation.

Mr. McCAIN

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I am pleased to cosponsor legislation introduced by my colleague, Senator Jeff Flake, that would fix a mapping error involving the transfer of Forest Service land to Young Life's Lost Canyon Camp in northern Arizona. The bill, S. 1592, would amend the Northern Arizona Land Exchange and Verde River Basin Partnership Act of 2005, P.L. 109-110, to clarify that Congress intended that Young Life could purchase at fair market value a full 237.5 acres of national forest land in the Kaibab National Forest as Congress intended. The Forest Service says there is an error in the Forest Service map referenced in the 2005 Act that has omitted about 25 acres from the land conveyance. This error appears to be preventing the Forest Service and Young Life from finalizing the transfer. Each year, nearly 5,000 young campers spend their summer at the Lost Canyon Camp, and this land conveyance is needed to expand the camp and create a buffer zone around the camp. I urge my colleagues to pass this clarifying legislation.

Mr. McCAIN

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I yield back the time.

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I call for the regular order with respect to the McCain amendment No. 1456.

Mr. McCAIN. I ask for the yeas and nays on the amendment.

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I call up the Hatch amendment No. 1911, which is at the desk.

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Vitter amendment No. 1473 be further modified with the changes at the desk.

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate vote in relation to the Vitter amendment at 5 p.m., with the time equally divided in the usual form and no second-degrees prior to the vote. I further ask that Senator Lee or his designee be recognized to withdraw his amendment No. 1687 prior to the vote on the Vitter amendment.

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Lee amendment No. 1687 be withdrawn.

Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. McCAIN

Mr. McCAIN. In a letter this month, the National Association of Evangelicals wrote the following in support of this amendment: While the use of torture is currently prohibited across all government agencies by executive order, this fundamental principle must be enshrined in law to ensure that no future President may authorize the use of torture. Again, that is from the National Association of Evangelicals. The Committee on International Justice and Peace at the United States Conference of the Catholic Bishops wrote the following in support of the amendment: In Catholic teaching, torture is an intrinsic evil that cannot be justified under any circumstances as it violates the dignity of the human person, both victim and perpetrator, and degrades any society that tolerates it. We urge all Senators to support the McCain-Feinstein amendment that would help to ensure that laws are enacted so that our government does not engage in torture ever again. I respect the dedication and services of those charged with protecting this country. For 14 years, America's security professionals in the military, intelligence community, and beyond have lived every day with a dogged determination to protect their fellow Americans. But at the same time, we must continue to insist that the methods we employ in this fight for peace and freedom must always be as right and honorable as the goals and ideals we fight for. I believe past interrogation policies compromised our values, stained our national honor, and did little practical good. I don't believe we should have employed such practices in the past, and we should never permit them in the future. This amendment provides greater assurances that never again will the United States follow that dark path of sacrificing our values for our short-term security needs. I also know that such practices don't work. I know from personal experience that the abuse of prisoners does not produce good, reliable intelligence. Victims of torture will offer intentionally misleading information if they think their captors will believe it. I firmly believe that all people, even captured enemies, possess basic human rights which are protected by international standards often set by America's past leaders. Our enemies act without conscience. We must not. Let's reassert the contrary proposition that it is essential to our success in this war that we ask those who fight it for us to remember at all times that they are defending a sacred ideal of how nations should be governed and should remember this when they conduct their relations with others, even our enemies. Those of us who give them this duty are obliged by history, by our Nation's highest ideals and the many terrible sacrifices made to protect them, and by our respect for human dignity to make clear that we need not risk our national honor to prevail in this or any war. We need only remember in the worst of times, through the chaos and terror of war, when facing cruelty, suffering, and loss, that we are always Americans and different, stronger, and better than those who would destroy us. I yield the remainder of my time.