Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, it is my privilege to rise to congratulate Jaleen Roberts on earning two silver medals at this year's Tokyo Paralympic Games.

Jaleen Roberts attended Kent-Meridian High School where she competed in the ambulatory races at the Washington State track meet. Born with cerebral palsy, Jaleen trained and excelled in sports such as soccer, wrestling, and gymnastics.

As a result of her perseverance and athleticism, she was named to the U.S. 2020 Paralympics Track and Field National Team. In both her events, the long jump and 100-meter dash, Jaleen earned silver medals and set new U.S. records. Her accomplishments are a testament to her hard work, commitment, and intense training she completed to arrive in Tokyo.

Madam Speaker, it is an honor to recognize Jaleen's incredible representation of our country, our state, and Washington's Ninth Congressional District on the world stage.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Clerk be authorized to make technical corrections in the engrossment of H.R. 4350, including corrections in spelling, punctuation, section and title numbering, cross-referencing, conforming amendments to the table of contents and short titles, and the insertion of appropriate headings.

Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 667, I offer amendments en bloc.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Correa).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Auchincloss).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Chu).

Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close at this time.

Madam Speaker, I too urge support of the amendments en bloc, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to get the numbers clear here. The budget proposed by President Biden was $753 billion, and by supporting this amendment, we support President Biden's budget of $753 billion, which was a $12 billion increase over last year's budget.

Last year's budget--the last budget from the Trump administration-- only increased the defense budget that year by $3 billion. So a $3 billion increase last year was perfectly acceptable to my Republican colleagues in the House and Senate under President Trump. A $12 billion increase this year is not. So the numbers are just being dramatically presented here as some kind of cut when it is actually a bigger increase than Trump did in his last year in the White House.

Let me make it clear: I see the threats, and I do agree more with my Republican colleagues on that point. I don't support the previous amendment that does the $75 billion cut because I understand the threat environment and I know that we need to modernize to meet that threat environment.

But the other thing I see is decades of waste and wasteful expenditures on programs like the F-35 and the Ford-class carrier.

Mr. Speaker, we spent money in a very imprudent way. We have got to instill discipline at the Pentagon so we get value for the dollars that we spend. Simply giving them another $25 billion does not do that, and $753 billion is enough. It is even better if we actually start spending it wisely, intelligently, and effectively. That doesn't happen. I am a little short. Can you just give me a little more money?

I always love the Winston Churchill quote: ``Gentlemen, we have run out of money; now we have to think.''

That is the type of discipline we need at the Pentagon, not just to give them a blank check every time they ask. The President's budget is sufficient to meet our needs.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support for the amendment.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 667, I offer amendments en bloc.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that

amendment No. 207 printed in part C of House Report 117-125 be modified in the form I have placed at the desk.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Langevin).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Krishnamoorthi).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Kelly).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Manning).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Lawrence).

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close, therefore, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support of the amendments en bloc, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Ocasio-Cortez).

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers at

this time, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I concur in the remarks of the ranking member. I urge support for the en bloc, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 667, I offer amendments en bloc.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I urge passage of the amendments en bloc.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I also support the en bloc. This will be the last chance for me to speak before we conclude the amendment process, so I do just want to make a final pitch for the underlying piece of legislation.

I think the amendment process has gone just fine. The underlying bill is incredibly well put together in the manner we have described, has bipartisan support, reflects a lot of the ideas and priorities of Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle as well, and from even outside the committee.

I think we have an excellent piece of legislation that will help meet the national security needs of our country, and I urge support for the bill in the final passage process, which will happen at some point tomorrow after we vote on, I don't know, 18-20 amendments, something like that. We will be here awhile.

Don't forget what brought us here in the first place. The need to pass the National Defense Authorization Act and maintain our commitment to put the men and women who serve in the military in the best possible position to carry out the missions that we give them.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support for final passage of the bill and urge support for this en bloc amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 667, I call up the bill (H.R. 4350) to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2022 for military activities of the Department of Defense and for military construction, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Madam 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. 4350.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself 4 minutes.

Madam Speaker, we have before us the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022, and I highly recommend it to the Members of the House and urge everybody to support this incredibly important and very well put together piece of legislation.

The first thing I will say is thank you to all of the staff, certainly on the Armed Services Committee, but the Rules Committee as well, and the leadership staff. This has been a truly bipartisan legislative process.

We had our markup in committee which lasted, I will do a little quick math in my head, something like 16 hours. We considered over 800 amendments, with a variety of different variations, and we got that number up closer to 1100. And then before the Rules Committee there were, again, over 800 amendments submitted, and we have worked with Members of this body, Democrats and Republicans, members on the committee and off, to craft what I think is a very good piece of legislation.

I think it is incredibly important, first of all, that we pass this bill so that Congress continues to exercise its authority to exercise oversight over the Department of Defense.

I know Members on both sides of this aisle have lamented throughout the years the degree to which the executive branch has exerted more power over the years, where the legislative branch has exhibited less. Now, granted, you find that issue more troubling when the opposite party is in charge of the White House, but we are all troubled by that phenomena.

We need to exercise our authority; this bill does that. To my mind, Congress does not pass enough authorizing bills, but we do do so in the Department of Defense, and have done so for over 60 straight years, and should do so again.

This bill, I think, is particularly important because we are at an important moment in defense of this country and in dealing with our role in the world. We have never faced a more complex threat environment. We have threats from Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, and transnational terrorist groups.

In addition, we are now coming out of 20 years of war fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, both countries of which our military now is out and not fighting those wars, and we have a whole bunch of change to deal with.

At the same time, innovation has never been more important in properly defending this country. We need to update and modernize our armed forces, everything from our information systems, to our command and control, to our platforms, to the support we give to our servicemembers. I am very proud that this bill reflects those priorities.

And the work has been done between Mr. Rogers and myself and members of the committee to produce that product. And I want to take a moment here to thank Mr. Rogers, the ranking member, he has been a terrific partner in this process, as has his staff and as has his members.

I think this bill reflects those priorities. It figures out how to improve our ability to update the military more quickly, to better buy software, to better innovate, to better embrace the innovative technologies that we need.

Madam Speaker, I want to particularly thank Mr. Langevin, as the subcommittee chair, who has taken the lead on the AI task force that looks at this question in great specificity. This bill really puts us in a position to modernize the force as we need to.

One other crucial issue that we do in this is we address the issue of sexual assault in the military that continues to be a scourge upon service in the military. We have worked for years to try to address this issue, we have not been successful.

This year, thanks in large part to the leadership of Congresswoman Speier, we have updated the UCMJ to create a special victims' prosecutor to give sexual assault and sex crimes the attention they deserve to make sure that we are protecting the men and women who serve in the military. It is a crucial aspect of this bill, and I strongly urge Members to support it.

Lastly, let me just say that as you pore over this bill, everybody here will find something that they do not like. Everybody here will also find something that they wish was in there that is not. There is no doubt about that, because it is a very large bill, and it was a collaborative process.

But it is the nature of the legislative process that you don't get absolutely everything that you want. I hope Members will keep that in mind. But it is also the nature of the legislative process, in this case, that we have produced a product that everybody in this House can be proud of.

And, again, I want to thank my Republican counterpart. We have worked together to produce this. I urge support from all Members. This is a bill every Member, Democrat and Republican, can enthusiastically support, and I reserve the balance of my time.

House of Representatives,

Committee on House Administration,

Washington, DC, September 8, 2021.

Hon. Adam Smith,

Chairman, Committee on Armed Services,

House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Smith: I am writing to you concerning H.R.

4350, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year

2022. There are certain provisions in the legislation that

fall within the Rule X jurisdiction of the Committee on House

Administration.

In the interest of permitting your committee to proceed

expeditiously to floor consideration of this important bill,

I am willing to waive this committee's right to sequential

referral. I do so with the understanding that by waiving

consideration of the bill, the Committee on House

Administration does not waive any future jurisdictional claim

over the subject matters contained in the bill which fall

within its Rule X jurisdiction. I request that you urge the

Speaker to name members of this committee to any conference

committee which is named to consider such provisions.

Please place this letter into the committee report on H.R.

4350 and into the Congressional Record during consideration

of the measure on the House floor. Thank you for the

cooperative spirit in which you have worked regarding this

matter and others between our respective committees.

Sincerely,

Zoe Lofgren,

Chairperson.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Langevin).

Madam Speaker, I yield the gentleman from Rhode Island an additional 30 seconds.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Golden), who is a member of the committee.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Garamendi), who is the chairman of the Readiness Subcommittee.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Gallego), the chair of the Intelligence and Special Operations Subcommittee.

Madam Speaker, at this time, I have no further speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

I just want to agree with Mr. Rogers. This bill, as you can hear from the Members speaking in favor of it on both sides of the aisle, encompasses a lot of different provisions, all designed to make sure we can adequately defend the country; and, most importantly, designed to make sure that we protect the men and women who are serving us to protect that country.

There are a lot of provisions in this bill focused on improving the quality of life, including a 2.7 percent pay increase and significant increases to improve things like childcare centers and barracks across the country.

I think this bill does an excellent job of identifying the threats that we face and putting ourselves in the best possible position to meet those threats going forward.

Again, no bill is perfect. We disagree on things. Everyone will have something in here that they wish were slightly different, but overall, I think we can support this bill.

I do want to close by once again emphasizing, I know there is a lot of angst about the amendments that have been ruled in order; but, again, that is not unusual that we would deal with issues that are not necessarily directly within our jurisdiction. We work with the committees of jurisdiction in order to carry those bills. We will continue to work on that.

I can say with confidence that there is no amendment that has been ruled in order that we are going to debate on that should impact any Members voting for this bill. This is a very strong bill. Do not forget the underlying provisions in this bill that are so important to the men and women who are serving this country, to the protections they need, the protections they deserve, and the protections that it is our obligation to provide for them and which I feel very, very strongly that this bill does.

This bill deserves support from this committee. I urge a ``yes'' vote.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Connie Ballmer for being the 2021 recipient of the YMCA's A.K. Guy Award, which is presented to an individual with outstanding volunteer service and dedication to social responsibility and equity and justice for all.

Connie Ballmer founded the Ballmer Group in 2015 with the mission of giving every child an equal chance to achieve the American dream. Since then, the Ballmer Group has worked diligently to remove economic barriers that prevent children from having equal access to education opportunities, housing, childcare, mental health resources, and healthcare. The Ballmer Groups has changed systems to allow every child to have equitable opportunities. Making these investments in our children now gives them the best chance at a successful future.

The Ballmer Group's mission has become even more important over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, as millions of families faced further economic strain. Without the incredible work of the Ballmer Group and the leadership of Mrs. Ballmer during COVID-19, many children would have completely lost access to resources critical to their development.

Under Connie's leadership, the Ballmer Group has been able to drastically change the lives of the next generation for the better. From making improvements to the foster care system to expanding access to behavioral health systems, the Ballmer Group has been on the forefront of tackling childhood poverty and ensuring every child has an equal chance to succeed.

Madam Speaker, it is my privilege today to thank Connie Ballmer for the enormous contributions she has made to her community and congratulate her on being the 2021 recipient of the A.K. Guy Award.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Andrew Lofton's outstanding career with the Seattle Housing Authority and congratulate him on a well-earned retirement after nearly five decades in public service.

Over the course of his astonishing career, Mr. Lofton held a variety of titles including Chief of Staff to Mayor Norm Rice, Budget Director of the City of Seattle, Chief of Departmental Operations for the City of Seattle, and most recently, the Executive Director of Seattle Housing Authority.

The positive impact Andrew has made on his community cannot be stressed enough. Seattle is without a doubt better because of his hard work, dedication, and passion for developing affordable housing. Under his leadership as Executive Director, the Seattle Housing Authority grew by over 1,500 units making a world of difference for over 3,000 children and adults. He grew the Seattle Housing Authority to the largest it has ever been, serving over 37,000 Seattle residents in over 8,400 units.

In a career full of achievements, one that stands out is his role in organizing and leading the community of Moving to Work Housing Authorities and serving as the first President of the Moving to Work Collaborative. This work was absolutely critical in piloting a new approach to more effectively and efficiently using Federal housing resources to serve low income communities. Moving to Work agencies assist families with children where the head of the household is seeking work or participating in a workforce development program. Not only do they help these families become economically stable, but they also increase housing choices for low-income families. Because of Andrew's dedication, these programs remain successful in Washington and across the country.

Andrew was also pivotal in the Community Moves to Opportunity initiative. This partnership between Seattle Housing Authority, King County Housing Authority, and Raj Chetty's Opportunity Insights research team at Harvard paved the way to broaden geographic choice and access to opportunity neighborhoods for low-income families. This work has been foundational for new national mobility efforts funded by Congress and currently being rolled out by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Madam Speaker, it is my great pleasure to congratulate Andrew Lofton on a distinguished career. The State of Washington is lucky to have had him working for its people and after 47 years of service he always worked with grace, a generosity of spirit, and a never-failing sense of humor.

Madam Speaker, it is my privilege to congratulate Michael Mirra

on a well-earned retirement and thank him for nearly two decades of service to the Tacoma Housing Authority.

The positive impact Michael has had on his community cannot be overstated. He has diligently served as Executive Director of Tacoma Housing Authority for the last 17 years, where in that time he helped countless people and substantially improved the Tacoma Housing Authority by growing the number of units and increasing the reach of their services. Prior to this role, Michael was a highly successful litigator who represented homeless families and poor neighborhoods in several high-profile legal cases.

Under Michael's leadership, the Tacoma Housing Authority completed a reconstruction project of 200 urban acres costing $250 million in Tacoma's Salishan neighborhood. Not only was this the largest project in Tacoma's history, but also the largest West of the Mississippi. The project increased the total number of units under the Tacoma Housing Authority by 29 percent.

Michael also spearheaded innovative ways to use federal housing dollars to further benefit families. With the Education Project, Michael was able to help the children of families working with the Tacoma Housing Authority succeed in public schools and pay for the college education of students experiencing homelessness. Michael was instrumental in finding new ways to use funds and enlisted local developers to incorporate low-income housing into market-rate developments.

He also established the Tacoma Housing Authority as a Moving to Work agency, becoming just one of 39 in the country. Moving to Work agencies are given the flexibility to test innovative, locally designed strategies to use federal resources more efficiently and help residents find employment to become financially stable in the long-term. This work was absolutely critical in piloting a new approach to more effectively and efficiently using Federal housing resources to serve low income communities. Not only do they help these families become economically stable, but they also increase housing options for low- income families. In 2016, in recognition of his distinguished career, Michael was awarded the Margaret M. Sevy Lifetime Achievement Award by the Washington State Housing Finance Commission.

Madam Speaker, it is my distinct honor to honor Michael Mirra on an outstanding career in public service, thank him for serving his community so well, and congratulate him on retiring.

Madam Speaker, one of the great honors that I have as a United States Congressman is to nominate young adults from my District for admission to our Nation's service academies, and during my time in Congress I have become acquainted with many fine young persons who have sought a nomination to one of the service academies. Today, I rise to give recognition to two such young persons who are my constituents, Samantha Scott Edwards and Alexander Thompson Edwards, from Mercer Island, Washington.

In 2018, I nominated Samantha to the United States Military Academy Class of 2022, and this spring I nominated Samantha's brother Alex to the United States Military Academy Class of 2025. This coming academic year Samantha will be a senior at West Point, while Alex will be a freshman plebe, and both Alex and Samantha will be competing on the West Point varsity swim team. While it is not unusual for West Point cadets to have relatives who have attended West Point, it is uncommon for a brother and sister to attend West Point at the same time, let alone compete on the same athletic team.

Samantha and Alex are incredibly talented in the pool and classroom and both have been named as Academic All Americans by USA Swimming.

Samantha now holds two West Point records in relay events and is in the all-time Academy top 10 rankings for her individual times in the 100 yard and 200 yard freestyle events. For her Senior year at West Point, Samantha has been appointed as a Team Academic Mentor, which is a recognition of Samantha's own scholarship as well as her ability to provide scholastic mentorship to other team members.

In addition to earning Academic All-American status from USA Swimming for his scholastic achievements, Alex served as Captain of his high school swim team and received his high school's 2020 ``Excellence in Elective Studies in History'' Award. In recognition of his accomplishments in the pool, the National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association has twice designated Alex as an All-American swimmer.

As their Congressman and Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, I am pleased that Alex and Samantha have each chosen to attend West Point to become officers in the United States Army. Given their academic achievements, as well as their athletic talents, these outstanding young adults could have gone to any number of fine universities--that they have chosen to attend West Point and serve our Nation's Armed Forces speaks volumes about their character and commitment.

Madam Speaker, it is my honor to recognize Samantha and Alex. I am proud they are my constituents, look forward to great things from them, and wish them the very best in the future.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and thank Doug Mattson for his work on the United Airlines Master Executive Council Legislative Committee.

A Washington native, Doug went on to serve honorably in the United States Air Force. During his time in service, Doug Mattson flew T-37s, T-43s, and C-40Bs and went on to finish his time in the military as a Captain.

After his service to our country, Doug couldn't keep his feet on the ground and became a pilot for United Airlines flying Boeing 787s. For the last eight years, he served on the Executive Council Legislative Committee where he worked to protect and promote the careers of pilots, concentrating on safety, pay, working conditions, benefits, and job security. He played a key role in preparing the next generation of pilot advocates to lead on these key issues.

Doug provided a steady hand over his eight years and is an Air Line Pilots Association member his colleagues came to depend on. His ability to mentor pilots of varying political persuasions is a testament to his commitment to ensuring that the Executive Council Legislative Committee fulfilled its duty to ensure that pilots voices are heard on Capitol Hill. No matter the day or flight, he always had a smile on his face.

Even though Doug has been busy dividing time between flying and advocating for pilots nationwide, he is a family man and enjoys spending time with his lovely wife Sharon, and their two sons Eric and Cameron.

Madam Speaker, it is my pleasure to thank Doug Mattson for the time he spent advocating for his fellow pilots on the United Airlines Master Executive Council Legislative Committee.

Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the life of Bishop Nathaniel James Davis, Sr., Th.D. He was profoundly devoted to his faith and his family, and dedicated his life to serving his community.

Bishop Davis moved to Seattle in 1955, and quickly became a pillar in the Christian community. He joined the Bethel Christian Church of the Apostolic Faith shortly after moving, finding a home among other service- and family-minded members of the organization. He was deeply involved with the Bethel Christian Church, and has undoubtedly touched the lives of countless members of the Seattle community. After many years of selflessness and dedication, Bishop Davis became a Pastor at the Bethel Christian Church, a position he held for 37 years. His legacy and influence are felt by countless members of the Church, where he was a fixture for more than 65 years.

Bishop Davis' leadership and commitment to his faith extended beyond his work in Seattle. He was the founding Bishop of the Alaska District Council, serving as Diocesan of the 56th Episcopal District and presiding over the Council for 9 years. He was deeply dedicated to his family, and was married to Evangelist Dr. Addie Davis for 64 years. He leaves behind his wife, 13 children, 41 grandchildren, and 18 great- grandchildren, who will undoubtedly carry on his legacy of service and leadership.

Madam Speaker, it is with great respect and honor that I recognize the life of Bishop Nathaniel James Davis, Sr. His life and dedication to serving his community should be an inspiration to us all.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Doctor Stephen Plymate on being the 2020 recipient of the William S. Middleton Award for outstanding scientific contributions and achievements in the areas of biomedical and bio-behavioral research relevant to the healthcare of Veterans. This prestigious award is the highest honor given by the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) Biomedical Laboratory Research and Development Service.

Doctor Plymate, a veteran himself, is an endocrinologist at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System and associate director of the Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center. He is credited with scientific breakthroughs that identified the biological mechanism underlying lethal, castration-resistant prostate cancer. Prostate cancer cells can become resistant to a common form of treatment and Doctor Plymate's discovery identified why traditional therapies have failed and spurred innovation for newer, potentially more effective therapies.

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Veterans, and over 500,000 known Veterans are currently battling this disease. Doctor Plymate's research will save the lives of countless Veterans and civilians alike. Once again, the Puget Sound VA has recruited the brightest and produced research that will revolutionize medicine.

Madam Speaker, it is my privilege to recognize Doctor Stephen Plymate's on his groundbreaking research and being the well-deserved recipient of the 2020 Middleton Award.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and thank Mr. Doug Bush for his years of service to the United States Congress and congratulate him on his appointment to serve as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology.

A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, former Army officer, and long-serving congressional staffer, Doug has served our country in uniform and as a civilian for nearly 30 years. Though he started his congressional career as a Senate staffer, something we try not to hold against him, Doug has spent the last 14 years as a valuable member of the House Armed Services Committee's professional staff.

From 2007 to 2019, Doug supported the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee's oversight of aviation and ground-based weapon systems, equipment, and programs. Doug's work with committee members helped the committee accelerate the development and fielding of weapon systems and equipment that enhanced the capabilities of our Armed Forces and terminate under-performing programs. More recently, Doug served as the Deputy Staff Director of the Armed Services Committee from 2019 to 2021 where he managed the day-to-day operations of the committee and the development of the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). As the Congress grappled with how to safely continue operations during the COVID-19 pandemic this past year, Doug played a critical role to ensure the Armed Services Committee continued to conduct effective oversight while also enacting the 60th consecutive NDAA.

Madam Speaker, on behalf of the House Armed Services Committee, I extend our deepest appreciation to Doug for his dedicated service to the committee, the Congress, and the military and civilian personnel of the Armed Forces. We wish him well as he continues his public service at the Pentagon with the Department of the Army.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and thank Ms. Leonor Tomero for her years of service to the United States Congress and congratulate her on her appointment to serve as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear and Missile Defense Policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Leonor has committed her professional career to advancing dialogue on nuclear non-proliferation and arms control within the non-profit world, amongst our international allies and partners, and most notably, with the Departments of State and Defense. She has been a strong advocate for taking a common-sense approach to rethinking our reliance on nuclear weapons--one of the only true existential threats to humankind today. Though she started her congressional career as a Senate staffer, something we try not to hold against her, Leonor has spent the last 10 years as a valuable member of the House Armed Services Committee's professional staff.

From 2010 to 2021, Leonor supported the Strategic Forces Subcommittee's oversight of national security space, nuclear weapons, nuclear non-proliferation, nuclear clean-up, and missile defense issues. Leonor's work with committee members helped the committee conduct proper oversight of both programmatic and policy aspects of strategic deterrence and increased understanding regarding the delicate balance of strategic stability. Leonor's commitment to advancing space from a national security standpoint culminated in the establishment of the Space Force, which despite the previous administration's boasting, was truly a bi-partisan effort that emanated from the HASC Strategic Forces subcommittee.

Madam Speaker, on behalf of the House Armed Services Committee, I extend our deepest appreciation to Leonor for her dedicated service to the committee, the Congress, and the military and civilian personnel of the Armed Forces. We wish her well as she continues her public service at the Pentagon with the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and thank Ms. Jamie Jackson for her service to the United States Congress and congratulate her on her appointment to serve as a Senior Deputy Associate Counsel at the White House.

A two-time graduate of the University of Virginia and with a law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law, Jamie's career has spanned a decade of public service. After working in various positions in the Legislative and Executive Branches of government, Jamie joined the House Armed Services Committee's professional staff in 2018, where she served as the minority staff lead for the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation. She also advised Members of the full committee and the Subcommittee on Military Personnel on policy matters related to information technology, cybersecurity, and military justice.

More recently, Jamie served as the committee's Deputy General Counsel from 2019 to 2021, where she played a critical role in the development and passage of two National Defense Authorization Acts (NDAA). Through her work with Members, outside committees, the Office of Legislative Counsel, and the Office of the Parliamentarian, Jamie played a central role in advising Members and staff of the committee on legal and procedural matters related to the bill. I can say with certainty that the committee would not have been able to get the 59th and 60th consecutive NDAAs done without the tireless work and support of Jamie Jackson.

Madam Speaker, on behalf of the House Armed Services Committee, I extend our deepest appreciation to Jamie for her dedicated service to the committee, the Congress, and the military and civilian personnel of the Armed Forces. We wish her well as she continues her public service at the White House.