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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), delivered remarks at a Senate Republican press conference today urging Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to bring to the floor the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which authorizes funding levels and provides key authorities for the U.S. military and other defense priorities. Clips and excerpts are below.

“The bottom line is that we are running out of time. When I say ‘running out of time’ I don’t mean we’re coming up on Thanksgiving and we haven’t taken up the NDAA. I mean we’re running out of time to be the superpower of the world and be competitive with, as we now call them, near peer adversaries. China is not waiting for us.”

“Providing for national defense is the federal government’s highest priority. And yet the Democratic leadership in the federal government seems to be more interested in expanding the role of the federal government rather than focusing on the priorities of the federal government as identified in the Constitution.”

“We need to be about the business in getting this NDAA on the floor, debating it, amending it, hearing from the entire team to make sure that the world knows that the United States of America is still prepared to be the #1 superpower in the world.”

Only four times in history has the Senate begun consideration of this bill in November or later. In the absence of this bill, important authorities — including the ability to issue special pay for our troops — will expire on January 1. The Senate Armed Services Committee passed the bill out of committee on July 21 by a vote of 23-3.