美国共和党参议员每周视频致辞（2015年6月13日）

Weekly Republican Address

 

Missouri Senator Roy Blunt

 

June 13, 2015

 

Hi, I’m Senator Roy Blunt from Missouri.

 

The Senate’s debating the National Defense Authorization bill, and will soon take up the bill that will fund our defense priorities.

 

And when we think about priorities, the number one priority for the federal government is to defend the country and that debate deserves the complete attention of the Congress.

 

The leader of Senate Democrats recently said debating the defense bill is a ‘waste of time.’

 

Providing for America’s active-duty military service members and the security of our nation is never a ‘waste of time.’

 

And the president threatened to veto the defense bill unless Congress provides more funding for all sorts of other agencies, like the IRS and the EPA.

 

You know, we can spend all the time we want talking about other priorities and all the other things we should be doing, but almost every American and certainly an overwhelming number of Missourians, agree with me: the most important role of the federal government is to do the one thing we can’t do by ourselves – defend the country.

 

In this debate, we are looking for ways to focus our resources on where the defenders are.

 

In other words, the bill redirects defense resources to our nation’s fighting forces – not more bureaucrats at the Pentagon.

 

As a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, I understand the importance of eliminating wasteful spending, of reducing bureaucracy, of streamlining critical military functions, and supporting those who serve – including military families.

 

The defense bill identifies 10 billion dollars in excessive and unnecessary spending and reallocates those funds to military capabilities.

 

It also modernizes the military retirement system, creating retirement accounts and matching savings that believes 75% of service members are likely to benefit from.

 

The current system has been pretty good, but fewer than one in five service members benefit, our system will remain in place for current service members, unless they want to opt in to a new system that will help more people who served.

 

The defense bill creates retention bonuses for service members who want to make a career out of serving our nation including those who want to serve more than 20 years.

 

Our plan reforms defense acquisition by clarifying senior officials’ roles, by streamlining decision-making, and promoting accountability by establishing performance standards that stick.

 

It maintains critical quality of life programs for the men and women of our armed services and their families and addresses the needs of our wounded, our ill, and injured service members.

 

It takes new steps in treating mental health like all other health.

 

It strengthens Israel’s missile defense systems and encourages co-production programs that boost our domestic defense industry as we learn more about missile defence.

 

You know, as we have learned that the David’s Sling and Iron Dome defensive weapon systems are critical not only to Israel’s security, but also to international security.

 

Finally, the bill goes a long way to combat the growing threats in cyberspace by evaluating vulnerabilities and directing upgrades sooner rather than later.

 

We live in a challenging time where threats are numerous and the landscape is continually changing. It is a moral imperative to provide our nation with the defense we need and our service members, veterans, and their families that protect and secure our freedoms with the appreciation they deserve.

 

When we pass the defense bill for the 54th year in a row, we will then move to the defense spending bill. Together, both will ensure the brave men and women of our armed forces have the resources and programs they need to defend our nation.

 

America’s service members and their families make tremendous sacrifices every day to protect our freedoms.

 

With our country facing increased threats at home and abroad, providing for the nation’s defense is never a ‘waste of time.’