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“CONFERENCE REPORT ON S. 2943, NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2017” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1590-E1591 on Dec. 5, 2016.
The Department is primarily focused on food nutrition, with assistance programs making up 80 percent of its budget. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, said the Department implements too many regulations and restrictions and impedes the economy.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
CONFERENCE REPORT ON S. 2943, NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR
FISCAL YEAR 2017
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speech of
HON. MADELEINE Z. BORDALLO
of guam
in the house of representatives
Friday, December 2, 2016
Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak on the Fiscal Year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, which was passed by a 375-34 vote on Friday. I commend Chairman Thornberry, Ranking Member Smith and the committee staff who worked many long nights on the FY17 NDAA. I worked with Mr. Smith and members of the committee, particularly Readiness Chairman Rob Wittman, to include a number of provisions and funding levels that will address certain readiness shortfalls and continue to support the Asia-Pacific Rebalance.
This conference agreement, along with the House report passed in May, includes a number of provisions that are particularly important for the people of Guam. Over the past few months of negotiations, we were able to secure the provision that authorizes the payment of claims to the survivors of the occupation of Guam during World War II and the heirs of those who were killed during the occupation. During World War II, Guam was the only U.S. civilian population occupied by Japan, and during this time our people were subjected to rape, torture, assault, murder, and other inhumane atrocities. The provision does not add to federal spending and utilizes mandatory federal spending provided only to the Government of Guam for taxes paid by federal personnel stationed on Guam. This is an important step towards recognizing the men, women, and children who endured injustice yet remained and remain loyal and patriotic Americans, and its inclusion this year is a hard fought victory for the people of Guam. I look forward to working with the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission, the Trump Administration and stakeholders on Guam to ensure that the war claims program is implemented in a fair, transparent and equitable manner. I will work to ensure the process is as clear to the people of Guam as possible so that we can truly bring closure to this matter.
We also successfully repealed the remaining restrictions on civilian infrastructure projects related to water and wastewater, as well as the construction of a cultural artifact repository, and authorized $67.5 million for these investments. This bill also authorizes military infrastructure projects, including full funding for six military construction projects for housing, munitions, and power infrastructure development. These projects total nearly $250 million and demonstrate further the continued commitment of the U.S. government to the Guam build-up and the realignment of Marines.
At the same time, this build-up must continue to reflect the 2011 Four Pillars agreement that commits the Navy to being a responsible community partner. Because of local concerns raised about land returns and how that will be calculated and tracked, we hold the Navy accountable to its ``Net Negative'' commitment by including in this bill a reporting requirement on past, current, and future Navy land usage on Guam. It is important that we have a mutual understanding about what lands will be returned to ensure that the Navy's commitment to hold no more land than it already has is upheld.
There are other challenges associated with the Guam build-up that are addressed this year. The Senate Judiciary Committee majority objected to the House-passed provision that would address workforce challenges affecting the health care and construction industries by providing flexibility to U.S. Customs and Immigration Services as it evaluates H-
2B visa renewal applications. These industries directly support the military mission on Guam and having an inadequate workforce on island could negatively impact our national security. However, in order to gather additional data and continue to build the argument in order to address the situation in the coming year, there is a reporting requirement that asks the Navy to document the mission specific impacts of a reduced workforce associated with increased denials of these applications. I am deeply disappointed that this tailored provision was not ultimately included in the Conference Report but I will work with the Department of Defense to address this matter in next year's defense bill or any other appropriate legislation next year. Immediately, I will work with USCIS to see if any additional emergency authorities exist to find a temporary solution to the matter so that we do not hold up military construction projects. We must find a more permanent solution to the repeated denials of H-2B labor on Guam so we can have a stable and consistent workforce to meet construction timelines and provide critical health care to the military and residents of Guam.
Additionally, ballooning cost estimates and associated scheduling delays because of Navy requirements for clearance of munitions and explosives of concern have disrupted numerous projects and need to be addressed. While the Navy has demonstrated a commitment to finding a balance that assures public safety while eliminating unnecessary, burdensome, and duplicative requirements, there is more that needs to be done. Early next spring. I expect the Navy to brief us on steps they are taking to mitigate redundancies and find acceptable efficiencies and we will continue to track this issue closely.
Additionally, this bill mandates a review of distinguished Asian American and Pacific Islander war heroes who may have been unjustly overlooked in consideration of the Medal of Honor. I especially want to thank Ranking Member Smith for his leadership on issues important to Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) and working to get that provision included in the Conference report. This review was first conducted for AAPIs who served during World War II, but did not include those who served during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Similar reviews have been conducted for African, Jewish, and Hispanic Americans and I believe that it is prudent to also conduct a comprehensive review for AAPIs who may have faced similar discrimination. It's important we appropriately recognize those who have given so much in support of our freedoms.
There are numerous provisions in this year's NDAA which help develop or restate our national security priorities in the Asia-Pacific region. We included several provisions which aim to help continue to build our relationship with Taiwan, including requiring a feasibility report on replenishment stops for Taiwanese midshipmen during their annual exercise in the Pacific as well as encouraging the U.S. and Taiwan to work together to engage in senior military leader exchanges. These will help build our bilateral relationship and provide opportunities for mutual exchange of information and training. This relationship will continue to be a critical asset for U.S. engagement in the region. We also seek to clarify and document aerial and maritime freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea. This requirement tasks the Navy and Air Force with reporting quarterly on important details pertaining to individual operations which are meant to challenge claims to disputed islands in the region and ensure freedom of navigation for all vessels and aircraft. Additionally, this report expresses a Sense of Congress in support of trilateral cooperation between the United States, Japan, and South Korea. Japan and South Korea are important American allies in the region and have taken steps to rebuild their bilateral relationship, which the U.S. must continue to encourage and foster. As we continue a unified approach to countering nuclear proliferation in North Korea, as well as deterring and destroying threats emanating from the unstable regime, there are opportunities to leverage the Guam National Guard in defense of the homeland. Building on discussions I have had with senior Army leaders, the bill report encourages the Department of the Army and the National Guard Bureau to ensure that there are resources made available in the Fiscal Year 2018 Budget to integrate the Guam Army National Guard into the security force mission for the THAAD deployed to Guam. Not only does this mission fit perfectly into the Total Force integration for which the Army has been an advocate, it contributes to Active and Reserve Component readiness, and enables the National Guard to utilize their capabilities for the homeland defense mission.
The bill also continues to promote invasive specific prevention and management and regional biosecurity issues and complements appropriations legislation for the Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration which require briefing on the Regional Biosecurity Plan on recommendations that will minimize the harmful ecological, social, cultural, and economic impacts of invasive species. This will encourage the Department of Defense and other federal agencies to make progress on implementation of high priority proposals contained within the Plan.
Finally, this bill provides critical funding for a number of Department of Defense programs that are important to Guam, the Asia-
Pacific rebalance, and our broader national security interests. We provide critical funding to the Long Range Strike Bomber program and additional funding to keep the fielding of the MQ-4 program on track. There is also $15 million in additional funding for the Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program. Though there needs to be greater allocation of resources for critical programs such as the National Guard State Partnership Program and the Naval Sea Cadet Corps, we were able to protect the President's Budget Request. However, these programs and their significant return on investment merit greater funding contributions.
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