Floor Statements

Madam President, tomorrow, Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Air Force will unveil the new B-21 bomber, a sixth-generation aircraft that will revolutionize the Air Force's long-range strike capabilities.

I had the special opportunity to see the first tails under development at Palmdale, and I am excited that this incredible feat of U.S. engineering will finally be unveiled to the American public and to our adversaries. It is an exciting day for the Air Force, and it is an especially exciting day for Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota, which was chosen to be the first home--Main Operating Base 1--of the B- 21 Raider.

We have come a long way at Ellsworth since I first came to the Senate. Shortly after I took office, Ellsworth was recommended for closure by the Department of Defense's Base Realignment and Closure Commission. So one of my first priorities as a U.S. Senator became getting Ellsworth taken off the closure list. Statistically speaking, our odds of pulling through were not high, but thanks to an all-hands effort by the congressional delegation and State and community leaders, we won the day, and we were removed from the BRAC list that August.

Then we got right to work on building up the base so we would never again find ourselves in the same position.

In 2007, the Air Force Financial Services Center opened at Ellsworth, and 2011 saw the arrival of the 89th Attack Squadron and its command and control stations for MQ-9 Reapers.

In 2015, a nearly decade-long effort paid off with the quadrupling of the

training airspace for the base. The Powder River Training Complex is now the largest training airspace in the continental United States and can be used for large-force exercises that draw combat aircraft from across the country, and it is well-suited for B-21 training. This is just one of the efforts that we undertook to put Ellsworth in the best possible position to secure the B-21 mission. I am proud that it paid off with last June's announcement that Ellsworth would become the home of the Raider.

The B-21 represents a significant step forward in our long-range strike capabilities, and it will come not a moment too soon. Between chronic underfunding and a high operational tempo during the War on Terror, our military preparedness became seriously strained.

A 2018 National Defense Strategy Commission report warned that our Nation's readiness had eroded to the point where we might struggle to win a war against a major power like Russia or China. This was not just because of the wear and tear of our own forces but also because of the significant investments being made by China and Russia in their militaries, with the intent of neutralizing our military strengths. We have made progress since then, but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done.

The importance of continued investment in our Nation's military and our technological edge cannot be overstated. The events of the past year should remind us that there will always be bad actors who represent a threat to peace and freedom, and being prepared to meet those threats is the best way of preserving peace and keeping our Nation secure.

It is disappointing that the National Defense Authorization Act-- yearly legislation to authorize funding for our military and national defense--has been so low on Democrats' priority list this year. We are 2 months in fiscal year 2023; yet the Senate still hasn't taken up the 2023 bill. Democrats were more focused on spending hundreds of billions of dollars on their Green New Deal priorities than they were on passing essential legislation for our Nation's defense.

As efforts continue to negotiate a way to bring the NDAA to the floor, I hope we are able to pass a comprehensive bill that rejects the President's inadequate funding request and addresses all our key defense requirements.

As always, one of my top priorities is ensuring that each year's NDAA addresses the needs of our airmen at Ellsworth Air Force Base. I am working to ensure that the base continues to receive full funding for the many equipment and support facilities that will be needed for the B-21 Raider mission.

In late October, I had the opportunity of reviewing the progress at Ellsworth firsthand with Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall, and suffice it to say, things are going to be very, very busy over the coming years. The B-21 training and operational missions will require significant investments in new infrastructure, including a low- observable coating restoration facility and a radio frequency facility to support the Raider's stealth properties, as well as a weapons generation facility to support its nuclear capability. The NDAA will continue this essential military construction and ensure that it remains on pace in preparation for the arrival of the B-21.

We also need to ensure Ellsworth remains a premier training space for our bombers, which is why I am pursuing a provision to require the Federal Aviation Administration to establish a pilot program to support the development of dynamic airspace. Dynamic airspace--sometimes called adaptive airspace--refers to efficiently scheduling and managing airspace and adjusting airspace boundaries as military exercises or other flights proceed through them. This concept will better enable the Pentagon to meet training requirements for aircraft like the B-21, which need larger volumes of training airspace to accommodate longer engagement distances.

As always, while we prepare for the B-21 mission, I continue to work to ensure that our B-1s at Ellsworth receive all the resources they need to remain a responsive and lethal component of Global Strike Command, as they demonstrated in the just-completed Bomber Task Force deployment to Guam.

While updated planes and equipment are essential, as always, our greatest resource is the men and women who wear the uniform. I will continue to work to improve quality of life for our Ellsworth airmen and their families.

More military families will be moving into the communities surrounding Ellsworth with the arrival of the B-21 mission, and another one of my priorities is making sure that the infrastructure is in place to provide ample support for these new families.

I worked to include a provision in this year's NDAA that would allow the Secretary of Defense to continue to adjust basic allowance for housing rates if an installation is experiencing a sudden increase in the number of servicemembers assigned there. This will help ensure that families at Ellsworth and elsewhere will have the resources they need to secure appropriate accommodations.

I am also working to ensure that the Douglas School District is able to integrate and support Air Force members' children and provide sufficient classroom space. I am grateful to the other members of South Dakota's congressional delegation for working with me to ensure that this year's NDAA will authorize up to $15 million in Impact Aid funding for schools experiencing forced structure changes like the anticipated growth at Ellsworth.

I am looking forward to tomorrow's unveiling of the B-21 Raider and to that day in the near future when the first Raider lands at Ellsworth. It is an honor to be part of building up the base and to represent the men and women of Ellsworth in the U.S. Senate.

I will continue to do everything I can to ensure that our Ellsworth airmen and our men and women in uniform in every branch of the military have everything they need to carry out their missions.

I yield the floor.

I suggest the absence of a quorum.

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Burr) and the Senator from Mississippi (Mrs. Hyde-Smith).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Burr), the Senator from Missouri (Mr. Hawley), the Senator from Mississippi (Mrs. Hyde-Smith), and the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Tillis).

Further, if present and voting: the Senator from Missouri (Mr. Hawley) would have voted ``nay.''

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Burr), the Senator from Mississippi (Mrs. Hyde-Smith), and the Senator from Idaho (Mr. Risch).

Further, if present and voting, the Senator from Idaho (Mr. Risch) would have voted ``nay.''

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Burr) and the Senator from Mississippi (Mrs. Hyde-Smith).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from North Carolina (Mr. Burr) and the Senator from Mississippi (Mrs. Hyde-Smith).

Madam President, today I recognize Christina Grettler, an intern in my Aberdeen, SD, office, for all of the hard work she has done for me, my staff, and the State of South Dakota over the past several months.

Christina is a graduate of Roncalli High School in Aberdeen, SD. Currently, she is attending Northern State University in Aberdeen, SD, where she is majoring in history. She is a hard worker who has been dedicated to getting the most out of her internship experience.

I extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to Christina for all of the fine work she has done and wish her continued success in the years to come.

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Nebraska (Mr. Sasse) and the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Toomey).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Nebraska (Mr. Sasse) and the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Toomey).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Nebraska (Mr. Sasse) and the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Toomey).

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Nebraska (Mr. Sasse) and the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Toomey).

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

The following Senators are necessarily absent: the Senator from Wyoming (Mr. Barrasso), the Senator from Nebraska (Mr. Sasse), and the Senator from Pennsylvania (Mr. Toomey).

Madam President, on Sunday, I had the privilege of attending a welcome home ceremony for the 235th Military Police Company of the South Dakota National Guard after their 10-month deployment to Guantanamo Bay. It was a fitting activity for Veterans Day weekend.

The ceremonies are always joyful occasions: seeing couples and families reunited and celebrating together after a long absence, welcoming soldiers back to the familiarity of home. But in the midst of the joy and celebration, these ceremonies are also a powerful reminder of all that our servicemembers and their families give up to serve our country.

The joy of reunification points to the months of loneliness in which spouses and loved ones have had to live without their husband or wife, mom or dad, son or daughter. It highlights the long months in which moms and dads have had to shoulder all the burdens of child-rearing alone. The soccer games, the football games, the doctors' visits, the emergency car repairs, the visit from the plumber--all the daily challenges and responsibilities that couples usually share fall solely on the shoulders of the spouse holding down the fort at home.

And on top of the responsibility is the anxiety--the constant worry about the loved one halfway around the world and maybe in danger. These moments of joyful reunion also point to all that our military men and women sacrifice while stationed far from their families and loved ones; the months of separation from spouses and children, with Zooms and phone calls and emails being a poor substitute for bedtime stories read together on the couch and holding hands on an afterdinner walk; the loneliness, the worry about a pregnant wife or an ailing parent or a child having a tough year in school--all while far away from the comforts of home that the rest of us take for granted.

And, of course, while reunions are joyful, the challenges don't end after deployment. It takes time for the stress of a tough posting to dissipate; for soldiers to get reacclimated to the civilian world or to their stateside base; for families to readjust to living together and not apart, only to have to do it all over again when the next deployment comes around.

Some servicemembers bear the invisible wounds of war for the long term, not to mention those who are wounded in combat sometimes requiring loved ones to become caretakers. And yet despite all of the hardships and the challenges, men and women still rise up and answer the call--for families to readjust to living together and not apart, only to have to do it all over again when their deployment comes around.

Servicemembers and their families spend years and decades serving our country. They willingly shoulder the burdens and the challenges of this life. Animated by love of country and of their fellow man, they choose a life that asks them to forget their own needs and focus only on what they can do for others. That asks them to forgo comfort and sacrifice, up to and including the sacrifice of their own lives. Their sacrifice, their willingness to serve, is what enables us to go about our lives in peace and freedom.

We owe our men and women in uniform--and the families who support them--a debt we can never repay. But we can at least--at the very least--remember. As we go about our daily business, as we travel to our jobs in security and come home again at night the same way, we can remember that we live in peace and safety because of the sacrifice of the men and women of the U.S. military who stand on watch for us.

I am profoundly grateful for the honor of representing some of the men and women of the U.S. military here in the U.S. Senate as well as our many South Dakota veterans. And I will continue to do everything I can to ensure that our military and our veterans have the resources they need and the resources that they are owed.

I have successfully fought for over a decade to prevent closures of service reductions at VA facilities in South Dakota to ensure that veterans can continue receiving the healthcare they need close to home. And I will continue to work to make sure our State's VA facilities remain open and available to our veterans and that community care is equally accessible, if they so choose.

I will continue to work to ensure that our military members have everything that they need to deter threats and to protect America. And, as always, Ellsworth Air Force Base is at the top of my priority list. I am currently working to ensure that we continue to make the needed investments in the facilities and other infrastructure that Ellsworth will need to host the future of B-21 bomber mission as well as to ensure the influx of military

families who will move to the area to have adequate school capacity in housing access.

As we celebrate Veterans and Military Families Month, I want to express my gratitude to the citizen-soldiers of the South Dakota National Guard, the airmen at Ellsworth Air Force Base, and our South Dakota veterans and their families.

May God bless you all and all of your brothers and sisters in arms. And may God continue to bless America.

I yield the floor.

The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator from Nebraska (Mr. Sasse).

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.