Rogers Statement in Support of Fy23 Ndaa at Rules Committee Meeting

Washington, DC, December 7, 2022
U.S. Representative Mike Rogers (R-AL), Lead Republican of the House Armed Services Committee, delivered the following statement at a House Committee on Rules meeting regarding H.R. 7776, the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023.

Lead Republican Rogers' remarks as prepared for delivery:
Chairman McGovern, Ranking Member Cole, members of the Committee, thank you for having me here today.
And thank you and your staff for helping us get the FY23 NDAA back to the House floor.
I'd also like to thank Chairman Smith.
There is no better partner to have, and I am grateful for his leadership.
Both of us would prefer to be bringing a formal conference report before you today.
Unfortunately, the Senate has once again failed to find time to fully debate and pass their NDAA.
This year's effort was further complicated by the addition hundreds of provisions outside our jurisdiction.
Many of these had little to do with national security.
Nevertheless, the Chairman and I have worked very closely with Chairman Reed, Ranking Member Inhofe, and leadership from both chambers to reach a strong bipartisan, bicameral compromise.
Providing the authorities and resources our warfighters need to defend our nation and defeat our adversaries is the greatest responsibility we have here in Congress.
We fulfill that responsibility with this NDAA.
We put our servicemembers first, providing a 4.6 percent pay raise and expanding benefits for military spouses and families.
To counteract the effects of record inflation on our military families, this bill –
  • Increases housing allowances and lowers prices at commissaries to offset skyrocketing costs for rent and food;
  • And it expands eligibility for low income military families to receive an additional allowance to cover basic needs.
This bill is also focused on ensuring our warfighters are the best equipped and trained in the world.
We increase funding for readiness -
  • Reversing cuts in military construction and housing projects;
  • Expanding training availabilities for servicemembers; and
  • Improving the safety of the ships, aircraft, combat vehicles, and facilities where our warfighters serve.
We also divest over $6 billion in legacy systems that do little to deter China and our other adversaries.
We reinvest those savings in emerging technologies, such as AI, quantum computing, hypersonic weapons, and autonomous systems.
These are the technologies we need to ensure our warfighters prevail on future battlefields.
The threats against us are rapidly evolving.
To keep us ahead of these threats, the NDAA includes hundreds of new and amended authorities requested by the Pentagon.
Failing to pass this bill means our warfighters lack the authorities they want and need to keep pace with China and our other adversaries.
It would also represent a dereliction of Congress's Constitutional duty to conduct oversight.
DoD is the largest federal agency and is responsible for 50 percent of our discretionary spending.
Congress cannot sit back and let this, or any administration, spend $850 billion without direction and oversight.
That's why I am very proud we have, once again, come together in a bipartisan and bicameral manner to fulfill our Constitution duty and produce the fiscal year 2023 NDAA.
I urge all members to support it.