Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following remarks on the Senate floor regarding the National Defense Authorization Act and the majority’s continued powergrab:

“The National Defense Authorization Act is one of the essential pieces of legislation the Senate considers every year.

“This is legislation that authorizes funding for our troops and the equipment and the support they need to carry out their mission.

“This is legislation that – along with the funding that follows in the Appropriations bill – puts muscle behind America’s most important strategic objectives across the globe.

“And yet, under the Democrat majority, this bill has basically languished since the summer.

“About 6 months — 6 months — have elapsed since the Armed Services Committee first reported the NDAA out for floor action.

“Now, with just days to go before Christmas — after wasting valuable time ramming through political appointee after political appointee — the majority wants to rush this crucial legislation through without the debate it deserves. They want to push it through the Senate without even giving the minority the ability to offer more than a single amendment.

“Just to give you some perspective, 381 amendments were proposed to this bill last year, and we agreed on 142 of them. The year before that, hundreds were again proposed and many were agreed to.

“And keep in mind that all of this follows right on the heels of the Democrats’ ‘nuclear’ power grab just a few weeks back.

“So this is what’s become of the Senate under the current Democrat majority: rules and traditions of the Senate that have served us well for years are broken or ignored in the interest of a short-term power grab.

“And some of the most important legislation that we consider as a body is rushed through at the last minute without a real opportunity for debate or amendment.

“Some have suggested that the Senate has become a lot like the House under the current Democrat leadership. From the standpoint of the minority, it’s worse.

“Committee chairmen have been cut out of the process. Senators who thought they’d have an opportunity to legislate have been told they’re basically irrelevant.

“And evidently so are the rules.

“The Senate rules are now just as optional to Washington Democrats as the Obamacare mandates they decide they don’t like. All of which obviously makes a mockery of our institutions and our laws, and all of which suggests that this is a majority that has zero confidence in its own ideas.

“This is a majority that can’t allow the minority to have a meaningful say when it comes to nominees…this is a majority that won’t allow members to offer amendments when it counts…

“Why? Because of a fear that the minority might actually win the argument and carry the day.

“And that’s exactly what we’re seeing with the NDAA.

“The Majority Leader won’t allow a robust amendment process because he can’t stomach a vote on Iran sanctions.

“He knows the Administration would lose that vote decisively, and he knows that many members of his own caucus would vote alongside Republicans to strengthen those sanctions.

“So rather than allow a democratic vote that might embarrass the Administration, the Majority Leader simply won’t permit that vote to happen.

“Here’s another consequence: by denying the Senate the ability to legislate, debate and amend the National Defense Authorization Act, the Defense Appropriations Act, and additional Iran sanctions – and by refusing the Senate the ability to vote on the Authorization for the Use of force against Syria – the Majority Leader has abdicated this chamber’s constitutional role in shaping and overseeing national security policy.

“Without considering these matters, the Senate has been unable to address the programs, policies, and weapons systems necessary to make the President’s strategic pivot to the Asia-Pacific theater real. Are the programs in place adequate to address China’s aggressive encroachment upon the territorial and navigational rights of other nations in the region? Through defense legislation, have we considered the necessary tradeoffs to fund adequate force structure? Can we execute this pivot and maintain adequate force structure in the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean?

“We won’t have that debate.

“We have been denied the opportunity to consider additional Iran sanctions. Despite the assertions of the administration that it has worked with the Congress to craft the current sanctions regime, each time sanctions have been enacted during the Obama Administration these bills have basically been forced upon the President. Despite the fact that the administration concedes that sanctions have brought the Iranians to the negotiating table, it is actively working to forestall additional sanctions tied to verification of the interim agreement. The Senate should not be denied a vote concerning Iran – the President retains the power to veto anything we might pass.

“What are our policies for preventing the ungoverned portions of Syria from becoming a terrorist safe haven?

“Unfortunately, we will not be having that debate this session of Congress.

“What is our policy for capturing, interrogating, and detaining terrorists? And if we had a coherent policy, would it survive after we draw down our forces from Afghanistan?

“We will not have that debate.

“This is not simply a matter of denying the minority a voice in shaping foreign policy, it’s an erosion of the Senate’s responsibility. We have given President Obama a free reign in shaping these matters and our allies in Asia and in the Arab world are now questioning our commitment to remaining forward deployed and combat ready.

“Most importantly, though, the courageous men and women who defend us every day shouldn’t have to suffer from these tactics.

“Still, despite the egregious abuses we’re seeing here of the legislative process, the underlying bill is an important one.

“It contains the authorization needed for key military construction projects on our military bases, for multi-year procurement that’s more efficient – that saves the taxpayers money – and for the combat pay and special pay our troops deserve.

“It also extends the prohibition on bringing Guantanamo Bay prisoners into the United States – a provision I and many Americans strongly support.

“And it authorizes funding for the next generation of aircraft carriers, something that’s central to the success of the President’s ‘pivot’ to the Asian theater I mentioned earlier.

“In short, there are a lot of good things in this bill, even if the process that got us here was unacceptable.

“But let me be clear: the bill before us would be markedly improved if Senators were allowed to offer amendments, and more than just a day or two to debate it.

“The Democrats who run the Senate really need to think hard about what they’re doing.

“This is just about the only regular order legislation we even consider any more – it’s one of the only chances Senators can count on to offer important amendments.

“And now, the Senate Democrat majority is even trying to shut that down too.

“So in closing, I’d remind my colleagues on the other side that one day they’ll find themselves in the minority again. And they should think long and hard about what they’re doing to this institution. Because the Senate is bigger than any one party or presidential administration.”