Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On The Senate Moving Forward On The National Defense Authorization Act Conference Report

Washington, D.C. – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor on the Senate moving forward on the NDAA conference report and announced Senators can expect to take votes on the NDAA tomorrow after lunch. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

At the beginning of December, I said the Senate has three major priorities before the end of the year. First, we needed to end the blanket holds on hundreds of military nominees by the Senator from Alabama. We have now done that. And before we finish for the year, the Senate plans to move to confirm the eleven four star military officers awaiting confirmation. 

Second, we must pass the annual national defense authorization bill, which has been one of the most bipartisan priorities in Congress for over sixty years. This will be our focus on the floor this week.

Third, and hardest of all, we must reach an agreement on the national security supplemental. We are still working, and while we’re not near an agreement yet, we’re going to keep pushing as the week progresses.

Last week, I filed cloture on the NDAA conference report, and we expect to move forward on the NDAA conference report after lunch tomorrow.

At a time of huge trouble for global security, passing the defense authorization bill is more important than ever. This year’s NDAA makes strong down payments in outcompeting the Chinese Communist Party, particularly by approving President’s Biden’s trilateral U.S., U.K. and Australia nuclear submarine agreement. We’ve been working on AUKUS all year. It’s one of the most important tools we have against the Chinese government, and it’s a major accomplishment to get it done.

I want to thank the Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, Jack Reed, and Ranking Member Wicker for their good work in shepherding this bill through committee and through the conference process. I commend all conferees for their good work over the past few weeks. And I thank my colleagues for working together to ensure the Senate’s six-decade streak of passing the NDAA remains unbroken.

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