Buck McKeon

Mr. McKEON

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to my friend and colleague, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Bartlett).

Mr. McKEON. I yield 2 minutes to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Akin), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to my friend and colleague, the vice chairman of the Armed Services Committee and chairman of the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Thornberry).

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to my friend and colleague, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Readiness, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Forbes).

Mr. McKEON. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 1540, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, which overwhelmingly passed the Committee on Armed Services on a vote of 60-1. In keeping with the committee's tradition of bipartisanship, Ranking Member Smith and I worked collaboratively to produce the bill and solicited input from each of our Members. The legislation will advance our national security aims, provide the proper care and logistical support for our fighting forces and help us meet the defense challenges of the 21st century. The bill authorizes $553 billion for the Department of Defense base budget, consistent with the President's budget request and the allocation provided by the House Budget Committee. It also authorizes $18 billion for the development of the Department of Energy's defense programs and $118.9 billion for overseas contingency operations. The legislation we will consider today also makes good on my promise, when I was selected to lead the Armed Services Committee, that this committee would scrutinize the Department of Defense's budget and identify inefficiencies to invest those savings into higher national security priorities. We examined every aspect of the defense enterprise, not as a target for arbitrary funding reductions, as the current administration has proposed, but to find ways that we can accomplish the mission of providing for the common defense more effectively. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 achieves these goals by working to: Ensure our troops deployed in Afghanistan, Iraq and around the world have the equipment, resources, authorities, training and time they need to successfully complete their missions and return home safely; Provide our warfighters and their families with the resources and support they need, deserve and have earned; Invest in the capabilities and force structure needed to protect the United States from current and future threats, mandate physical responsibility, transparency and accountability within the Department of Defense; and Incentivize competition for every taxpayer dollar associated with funding Department of Defense requirements. Mr. Chairman, I know there have been many questions raised by the ACLU and others relating to a provision in our bill dealing with the 2001 authorization for use of military force. I would like to address some of those concerns now. Section 1034 of the NDAA affirms that the President is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against nations, organizations, and persons who are part of or are substantially supporting al Qaeda, the Taliban and associated forces. It also explicitly affirms the President's authority to detain certain belligerents who qualify under this standard I just described, which Congress has never explicitly stated. It's important to note that the U.S. Supreme Court has accepted the President's authority to detain belligerents as within the powers granted by the AUMF. Moreover, the language in section 1034 is very similar to the Obama administration's interpretation of the authorities provided pursuant to AUMF, in particular, a March 13, 2009, filing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. While U.S. courts have accepted the administration's interpretation of the AUMF, it is under constant attack in litigation relating to the petitions filed by Guantanamo detainees. Because of these ongoing challenges, the administration's interpretation may receive less favorable treatment over time if Congress refuses to affirm it. Section 1034 is not intended to alter the President's existing authority pursuant to the AUMF in any way. It's intended only to reinforce it. I believe that our men and women in uniform deserve to be on solid legal footing as they risk their lives in defense of the United States. Finally, some have suggested section 1034 was included in the dark of night. I note that this language was originally included in the Detainee Security Act of 2011 introduced on March 9 and was discussed during a committee hearing on March 17. We have sought input from the administration, as well as Ranking Member Smith, his staff and numerous outside experts. Moreover, the process used to craft this legislation is historic in its transparency. In fact, a copy of my mark was distributed to committee members' offices 5 days before our markup. The legislation, including funding tables, was posted online nearly 48 hours in advance of our markup. It's also noteworthy that there are no earmarks in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012. Every Member request to fund a defense capability was voted on and includes language requiring merit-based or competitive selection procedures. To those who are concerned that members may unduly influence the Department of Defense to direct funds to a particular entity, I can only recall the words of my good friend, the former chairman of the Armed Services Committee, Ike Skelton, who would say, Read the amendment. What does it say? If DOD chooses to violate the law and the text of a provision in the NDAA requiring merit-based selection, the Armed Services Committee will take them to task. Finally, I thank the chairman and the ranking member of the Rules Committee for working with us to bring this measure to the floor. I urge all of my colleagues to support passage of this bill. In partnership with you, we look forward to passing the 50th consecutive National Defense Authorization Act. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to my friend and colleague, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wittman).

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to my friend and colleague, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Military Personnel, the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson).

Mr. McKEON. I yield 1 minute to my friend and colleague, a distinguished member of the Armed Services Committee, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Young).

Mr. McKEON. I yield myself such time as I have remaining. Mr. Chairman, one of the great things on serving on this committee, the experience that I have had, is getting to know Mr. Smith during these last few months much better than previously and the members of the staff who have worked so hard and so diligently to get us to this point. Last week, or week before, when we marked this up in full committee, we went from 10 in the morning until 2:30 the next morning. And everybody was at work again the next day ready to go. We get to meet with the troops, we get to see the young people, and some that are not so young, serving us around the world to preserve our freedoms and freedoms of other peoples. And our job is to do all we can to help make their job easier, to help make their job--to help, as I said earlier, give them the equipment, the training, the leadership, the time, all the resources that they need to return home safely to their families. I think this bill does that. I feel very good about all of the members of the committee, the hard work that they have done to get us to this point. I look forward to the next few days working on the amendments and turning out a final finished product; and, hopefully, then we can encourage the other body to get their work done, and we can get this bill as our 50th bill to the President for his signature.

Mr. McKEON. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Neugebauer).

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to my friend and colleague, a distinguished member of the Armed Services Committee, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Runyan).

Mr. McKEON. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Conaway).

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to my friend and colleague, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Turner).

Mr. McKEON. I thank the gentleman from Texas for raising this important issue. As the gentleman is well aware, oversight of DOD financial accountability issues is of high importance for our committee. We continue to work with the department to ensure they continue aggressive measures to get the department to a point where we have confidence in their financial statements. Mr. Conaway is a CPA and brings great expertise to the Congress.

Mr. McKEON. I applaud the gentleman from Texas on his continued efforts to shine light on financial responsibility at the Pentagon. The language he's working on is certainly needed by the intelligence community to meet the financial accounting standards we require of the rest of the Federal Government. If all committees can agree upon language, I would welcome the opportunity to support such an amendment.

Mr. McKEON

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1540.

Mr. McKEON

Mr. McKEON. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services be authorized to file a supplemental report on the bill, H.R. 1540.

Mr. McKEON

Mr. McKEON. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise in strong support of the bill before us that will fund our troops through the end of the fiscal year, cut an additional $12 billion in Federal spending, and prevent a government shutdown. Failure to pass this resolution would intentionally harm those who have made great sacrifices in defense of our ideals and our values. We simply cannot have our fighting forces on the front lines in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya wondering if their families at home will be provided for. It would be a grave injustice and a gross affront to the civil-military relationship. Their pay cannot, should not be disrupted, not for a week, not for a few days, not for a second. Our men and women in uniform deserve better. I don't even want to contemplate a government shutdown, but if it should happen, people need to know that the pay to our military would be suspended. This means we would have our troops on the front lines risking their lives with their families at home, with bills to pay and mouths to feed, and they wouldn't get their paycheck. As Secretary Gates has said, many of our youngest sailors, soldiers, airmen, and marines live from paycheck to paycheck. While wives and husbands are off fighting to keep this Nation safe, we cannot have them left wondering what's happening to their families. I think we are mature enough to fix this problem. But if we don't, failing to properly resource the Defense Department during the difficult trials of war could arrest the momentum that has been achieved through the blood, sweat, and tears of our troops. The military is already overstretched, over-deployed and overworked. Should this resolution fail, they will also be underpaid. We have too much riding on these young men and women to sell them short. Let's work together to figure out this budget, but let's also get this military pay issue off the table first. I encourage all Members to send a clear message to our military men and women by supporting this critical troop funding appropriations bill--this Congress believes in you, we support you, we honor your dedication.

Mr. McKEON

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to be removed as a cosponsor from H.R. 1323.

Mr. McKEON

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I join with my colleagues from the Foreign Services Committee, Foreign Affairs Committee, and my colleagues from the Armed Services Committee in opposition to this resolution. This resolution would undermine the efforts of our military commanders and troops as they work side by side with their Afghan and coalition partners. Yesterday, in his testimony before the House Armed Services Committee, General Petraeus, commander of the U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan, described significant progress made by our troops and Afghan forces. But while the United States is on track to accomplish our objectives by 2014, the general also warned that this hard-fought progress is fragile and reversible; and he urged that continued support from this Congress for our mission in Afghanistan is vital to success. When asked specifically how our troops and enemies would view the resolution before us today, General Petraeus stated: The Taliban and al Qaeda obviously would trumpet this as a victory. Needless to say, it would completely undermine everything our troopers have fought so much and sacrificed so much for. Mr. Speaker, when the President authorized a surge of 30,000 additional troops, he reminded us of why we are in Afghanistan. It's the epicenter of where al Qaeda planned and launched the 9/11 attacks against innocent Americans. It remains vital to the national security of this country to prohibit the Taliban from once again providing sanctuary to al Qaeda leaders. Moreover, withdrawing before completing our mission would reinforce extremist propaganda that Americans are weak and unreliable allies and could facilitate extremist recruiting and future attacks. Like most Republicans, I supported the President's decision to surge in Afghanistan. I believe that with additional forces, combined with giving General Petraeus the time, space and resources he needs, we can win this conflict. During a visit last week with our troops in Afghanistan, Secretary Gates observed the closer you get to this fight, the better it looks. Having just returned myself from Afghanistan a few weeks ago, I couldn't agree more. Our delegation to Afghanistan met with senior military commanders and diplomats, talked to airmen at Bagram, marines in Helmand and soldiers in Kandahar. It was clear to our delegation that our forces have made significant gains and have reversed the Taliban's momentum. Our forces and their Afghan partners have cleared enemy strongholds, swept up significant weapons caches, and given more Afghans the confidence to defy the Taliban. We have made considerable progress in growing and professionalizing Afghanistan's army and police so these forces are more capable and reliable partners to our own troops. As significant as our troops' achievements in the fields are, they can easily be undone by poor decisions made here in Washington. Today's debate is not being conducted in a vacuum. Our troops are listening. Our allies are listening.

Mr. McKEON. The Taliban and al Qaeda are also listening. And, finally, the Afghan people are listening. Mr. Speaker, I want to send a clear message to the Afghan people and government, our coalition partners, our military men and women that this Congress will stand firm in our commitment to free us from the problems that the Taliban created for us on 9/11. We will not have this sanctuary ever happen again. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this resolution.

Mr. McKEON

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chair, I rise today in strong support of the Kline/ Foxx/Hastings/McCarthy/Payne amendment which will block the administration from using any funds to implement the gainful employment regulations. The overbearing regulations the Department of Education promulgated deny students a choice in their educational program and would require the federal government to approve new educational programs being offered at proprietary schools. This is another attack by an administration that is more intent on exerting more government control than expanding job creation in America. For-profit schools perform a crucial role in higher education; they fill a void in providing college education that traditional universities cannot meet. Traditional public universities are tightening their belts both financially and in terms of the number of students entering their programs. For-profit schools are capable of being flexible enough to meet the demands of students and businesses looking for qualified candidates. This regulation stands to destroy that relationship between the needs of the market and the dreams of students. After hearing the arguments put forward by the Department of Education several times, I remain completely unconvinced. After receiving over 90,000 comments in the public comment period on the proposed rule, the Department has largely ignored the chorus of opposition to the rule. The process is flawed, the logic at the department is flawed, and the administration's approach on higher education is flawed. Therefore, I strongly support this amendment to ensure that the Department of Education cannot move forward on the gainful employment regulation.

Mr. McKEON

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, Mr. McCarthy and I rise today to honor the life and passing of Ty Killen, a proud veteran of our nation's Armed Forces and a resident of Lancaster, California. Ty's unwavering commitment to her country began during the height of WWII when at 19 years old she joined the military as a Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP). During this difficult time in our nation's history, this brave group of women selflessly rose to the occasion and supported the war effort by flying thousands of stateside missions for the United States Armed Services. For her service, Ty was recognized and awarded the Congressional Gold Medal last year by the 111th Congress. Following the war, Ms. Killen moved back to southern California and continued to serve her community as a school teacher in Lancaster. Retiring after 40 years, Ms. Killen's distinguished career continues to have a lasting effect on the community. Ty will surely be missed, and our thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends, and students who have been moved and inspired by Ty during her life.

Mr. McKEON

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I respectfully submit the rules of the Committee on Armed Services, which were adopted by the Committee on January 20, 2011. Rules of the Committee on Armed Services 112th Congress