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. 8800. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman,…
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. 8800.
Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Chairman, throughout our committee's oversight hearings this year, we have heard a consistent theme: The defense industrial base, the foundation of our military power, is in deep trouble. Over the last 30 years, the defense
industrial base has atrophied significantly. We are no longer capable of manufacturing for our warfighters at scale and speed.
In the 1990s, America had 51 prime defense contractors. Today only six remain. Skilled talent has left the workforce, leaving hundreds of thousands of defense manufacturing jobs unfilled. Excessive regulation pushed small businesses, startups, and private capital out of the defense business. Inconsistent demand signals discouraged prime contractors from investing in production capacity.
As a result, our stockpiles of critical defense articles have fallen to dangerously low levels. That includes critical minerals, which we have very little capacity to mine, refine, or process.
While America allowed vital manufacturing capability to erode, China did not. China's shipbuilding capacity dwarfs ours. They are outproducing us on ships, drones, and munitions. They control over 90 percent of the world's critical mineral refining and processing capacity, and they have embedded themselves deep within our defense supply chains.
The consequences are clear. There are growing doubts about our ability to sustain a protracted conflict against China and our other adversaries, and that is unacceptable.
We must take action to address these problems before American deterrence erodes any further.
The FY27 NDAA, takes that action. This year's bill is focused on revitalizing the defense industrial base. We are giving industry the certainty it needs to invest, expand, and produce faster. We are cutting needless regulations that prevent innovative businesses from working with the Pentagon. We are reviving our organic industrial base by improving conditions at our depots, arsenals, and shipyards. We are securing our supply chain by giving the Department authorities to better identify vulnerabilities and then replace them with domestic or allied sources, and we are creating new jobs and helping Americans build advanced technical skills.
In addition to revitalizing the defense industrial base, the NDAA meets our other crucial needs. We are raising pay for servicemembers and improving housing, education, and childcare for military families. We are strengthening our nuclear deterrence and missile defense, while maintaining a strong posture to deter our adversaries, and we are prioritizing the development of innovative technologies that will give our warfighters the edge in future conflicts.
To support these policies, we are authorizing $1.15 trillion in discretionary funds to match President Trump's historic budget request. For the first time in 40 years, we have been presented a budget that accounts for the true cost of American deterrence. This top line begins to reverse the damage caused by decades of underinvestment in the U.S. military.
However, we understand that with this historic investment comes an even more urgent need to guard against waste, fraud, and abuse. The bill does so by cutting nearly $30 billion in wasteful spending, reducing fraudulent payments, and providing new authorities to ensure the Pentagon achieves a full, clean audit within 24 months.
Peace through strength doesn't begin on the battlefield. It begins in our factories, our depots, and our shipyards. This bill reflects our commitment to rebuilding that foundation. It will build the ready, capable, and lethal fighting force we need to deter China and other adversaries.
Mr. Chair, I urge all my colleagues to support it, and I reserve the balance of my time.
House of Representatives,
Committee on Agriculture,
Washington, DC, June 29, 2026.
Hon. Mike Rogers,
Chairman, Committee on Armed Services,
Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Rogers: I am writing to you concerning H.R.
8800, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2027. There are certain provisions in the legislation that
fall within the Rule X jurisdiction of the Committee on
Agriculture.
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 Agriculture does
not waive any future jurisdictional claim over the subject
matters contained in the bill that fall within its Rule X
jurisdiction. I request that you urge the Speaker to name
members of this committee to any conference committee that is
named to consider such provisions.
Please place this letter into the committee report on H.R.
8800 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,
Glenn ``GT'' Thompson,
Chairman, Committee on Agriculture.
Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wittman), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces.
Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. DesJarlais), the chairman of Strategic Forces Subcommittee.
Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Kelly), the chairman of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee.
Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bacon), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Cyber, Information Technologies, and Innovation.
Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Bergman), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Readiness.
Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Jackson), chairman of the Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations.
Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Fallon), chairman of the Subcommittee on Military Personnel.
Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson), my friend and colleague.
Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Kiggans).
Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Guam (Mr. Moylan), an outstanding member of the Armed Services Committee.
Mr. Chairman, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mills), another outstanding member of the Armed Services Committee.
Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Strong), a former member of the Armed Services Committee.
Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. McGuire), a freshman member of the Armed Services Committee.
Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time.
First, I will take a minute to thank my friend, Ranking Member Smith, for his tremendous partnership in fashioning this piece of bipartisan work that is so important for our Nation. He has been a great partner, and I do want everybody to know that.
This is a very important bill. It provides critical authorities for our warfighters to keep us free and safe.
I urge all Members to support it, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. Chair, Congress established the Afghanistan War Commission to provide the American people with accountability and transparency after 20 years of war that claimed nearly 2,500 American servicemembers.
The commission has interviewed hundreds of senior leaders across four administrations and reviewed thousands of sensitive records.
While the commission has completed a first draft of its report, government shutdowns and delays in accessing certain agency records have made a 1-year extension necessary.
I share the desire for accountability, but we don't get it if the commission is forced to turn in an incomplete product. This extension will ensure the commission's work is complete and accurate.
Mr. Chair, I urge all Members to oppose the amendment, respectfully.
Mr. Chair, this amendment strikes a provision that prohibits the enrollment of Chinese, Russian, Iranian, and North Korean students at our military academies and replaces it with an outright ban on all foreign students, including our allies.
The fact is, there is tremendous benefit in having our cadets study and train alongside cadets of our allies and partners.
Furthermore, the law requires that allies who send students must pay the full tuition and room and board expenses so that the U.S. taxpayer is not paying a dime for those foreign students.
The law also requires these students to be vetted by Homeland Security, State, and DOW to ensure they are not a threat. Finally, the law caps the number of accepted so that no Americans are displaced by the foreign students.
The underlying bill already codifies the prohibition of those students from our adversaries. We shouldn't extend that prohibition to our allies. As such, I oppose this amendment.
Mr. Chair, President Trump has made it a priority to ensure that our cadets and midshipmen are treated like other college athletes and are able to compete on a level playing field with other Division I universities.
The current statutory limit of five slots per year for cadets and midshipmen to ``go pro'' is burdensome and prevents superior athletes from choosing to attend a service academy.
These folks will still need to satisfy the 5-year service obligation in the Reserves where they will be an effective recruiting force for our military academies. As such, I respectfully oppose this amendment.
Mr. Chairman, pursuant to House Resolution 1438, I offer amendments en bloc.
Mr. Chairman, at this time I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Chairman, at this time I have no speakers, and I urge adoption of the en bloc package. I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. Chairman, while I agree with the amendment's intent to increase burden sharing, I must respectfully oppose it.
The Department of War opposes this amendment.
Secretary Hegseth requested funding for these authorities in the budget because training with our allies and partners is essential to U.S. military readiness. Many of our partners, specifically those in the Western Hemisphere and the Pacific, cannot participate in joint exercises without some limited financial assistance from the U.S.
Those exercises are critical to ensuring American forces can train and operate effectively alongside our allies and partners in a conflict with China. Defunding those programs would only make it harder to strengthen burden sharing to deter China and to defend the homeland.
Mr. Chair, I urge all Members to oppose this amendment.
Madam Chair, thanks to President Trump's PURL initiative, our European allies are funding the vast majority of Ukraine's defense. That is exactly as it should be. However, even though our allies pay for those U.S. weapons with that money, the Department still needs the funding to implement the President's policy.
This amendment would also defund intelligence-sharing and end-use monitoring that has kept U.S. weapons from ending up in the wrong hands.
The administration continues to support providing Ukraine intelligence and PURL Initiative in an effort to force Putin to the negotiating table. We shouldn't cut off the President's negotiating leverage.
Madam Chair, for those reasons, I respectfully oppose the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.