Washington, D.C. – More than 50 Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee, Judiciary Committee, and the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus today wrote to Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Joseph F. Dunford, Jr. to urge that they not comply with any unconstitutional directive to ban transgender individuals from serving in the United States military.
Today’s letter was led by House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) and House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI). In addition to the letter, Reps. Smith, Conyers, and Cicilline released the following statement:
“President Trump’s recent Twitter announcement banning military service by transgender individuals is not only bad policy, it is unconstitutional. It defies common sense to deny the military these service members’ ‘mission-critical’ skills. No American who is willing and able should be denied the honor and responsibilities that come with serving in our Armed Forces solely on the basis of their status as the member of a protected group.
“Unfortunately, President Trump’s proposed ban is yet another troubling sign of his willingness to make impulsive policy decisions while ignoring military leadership. We appreciated the measured response of Secretary Mattis General Dunford and other military leaders in response to President Trump’s rash announcement of a proposed discriminatory and unjustified ban on military service by transgender individuals. We would urge President Trump to stop making policy via Twitter and to consult America’s professional military leadership before making decisions that affect the lives and safety of our citizens.”
Thousands of transgender individuals are currently serving in the United States Armed Forces. Trump’s July 26th Twitter announcement to ban transgender individuals from the military has received much backlash. More than 50 retired senior military officers recently released a statement opposing the ban on the grounds it would degrade military readiness. Trump’s announcement is particularly troubling in light of recent news reports regarding President Trump’s meetings with Secretary of Defense Mattis and other military leaders to discuss the war in Afghanistan, in which he complained that the U.S. is ‘losing’ and insinuated he should ignore strategic advice from high-ranking military officials by likening the war to the renovation of a New York City restaurant.
Washington D.C. – Congressman Adam Smith released the following statement following his vote in support of H.R. 3364, the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act:
“Russian attempts to influence the 2016 presidential election in the United States were flagrant and unacceptable. Their meddling has not been confined simply to our borders – as they carried out aggressive campaigns to disrupt the elections of our European partners. These actions must stop.
“In response, I joined a bipartisan majority of my colleagues today in voting in favor of comprehensive legislation that codifies existing sanctions put in place under the Obama Administration and enacts new sanctions against individuals and entities involved in these activities, and brings renewed pressure to the governments of North Korea and Iran. This package makes clear that cyber-attacks, provocative missile tests, and other destabilizing work by these governments runs contrary to global peace and security. It is incumbent upon our nation to lead the international community in confronting these actions.
“Today’s vote is a meaningful step in preventing Vladimir Putin from conducting future influence campaigns around the world and ensuring accountability for the Russian Federation’s destabilizing actions in Ukraine including the attempted annexation of Crimea and fomenting conflict in eastern Ukraine. This bill also holds President Trump accountable in any potential roll-back of existing sanctions. It also holds that North Korea’s continued violations of U.N. resolutions and threats to disrupt the Indo-Asia-Pacific region cannot be allowed to continue. Following the July 4, 2017 North Korean missile test, on top of continued Iranian ballistic missile tests, the United States must make clear that further development of long-range weapons systems that threaten the United States and its allies is unacceptable.
“Also included in the bill were critically needed initiatives, such as a pilot program to facilitate the processing of remittances by local credit unions and banks here in the United States to Somalia. The ability of Somali Americans to send money to their loved ones is an issue of life or death for families in Somalia, and we must explore creative solutions that allow for the continued the flow of remittances to Somalia. The worsening humanitarian crisis in this fragile country will be made far worse if we do not take action.
“In recognition of the important provisions of this legislation, I encourage swift enactment of this package of sanctions for President Trump to sign into law.”
Washington, DC – Today, House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) made the following statement about President Trump’s remarks to service members at the commissioning of the USS Ford urging members of the military to lobby Congress on his behalf:
“I condemn President Trump’s remarks. We need to be one-hundred percent clear that it is utterly beyond the pale for the Commander-in-Chief to publicly tell members of the armed services that they should lobby Congress on his behalf. Doing so puts them in an untenable position and disrespects their longstanding professional practices as well as their duty to remain apolitical. President Trump has done this before, and he cannot be allowed to keep doing it.”
Washington, D.C. – Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) made the following statement about the passage of the FY 18 NDAA in the House:
“An enormous amount of good bipartisan work has gone into the writing of this bill, and I am supporting it. Make no mistake about it: We face a complex threat environment. North Korea is testing intercontinental ballistic missiles, Russia continues to undermine not just our elections, but democracy itself across the globe, and we face a terrorist threat. These are dangers that we must be prepared to confront.
“On the issue of terrorism, I want to warn strongly against using the issue of terrorism to demonize the Muslim religion. I know many people don’t want to do that—they simply want to confront groups like Al Qaeda and ISIS—but Steve Bannon, who works at the White House, indicates that he thinks that all Muslims are a threat. To the extent that we adopt a national security policy that views the world that way, we make the problem worse. That’s what ISIS wants. That’s what Al Qaeda wants. They want a clash of civilizations. We should not want that. Muslims have the biggest stake in this, and we must work with them, not against them, to confront the terrorist threat that ISIS and Al Qaeda and others present.
“On the broader budget issue, the main thing I am still concerned about in this bill is that it really doesn’t make choices. It continues to spend money in a variety of different places without a recognition of finite resources, and of the choices that need to be made about how to confront the threats that are most dangerous to us. This defense bill is $72 billion over the budget caps, so if we don’t eliminate or raise the budget caps, that additional money will go away, and leave us once again in the land of uncertainty for the Department of Defense. We have to make choices so that we don’t leave the U.S. military in the lurch, not knowing how much money they are going to have.
“I also want to point out that the rest of the budget does matter. The President’s budget contains a $54 billion plus-up for defense and a $54 billion cut from nondefense discretionary spending. So don’t tell me one thing doesn’t have anything to do with the other. What are we talking about with domestic spending? Here are a few examples: I mentioned our infrastructure, that bridges are collapsing all across the country. We have incredible infrastructure needs that lead to the strength of our country. They are connected, just like national defense is, to the strength of this nation.
“Another example is the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, which is close to my district in Seattle. It is doing incredible research right now about how not to use chemotherapy, but to actually go in and take out the white blood cells that aren’t working, get them to work, send them back in, and successfully fight cancer. This has worked for blood cancers, and they’ve just started studies on lung cancer, where basically we could cure cancer without going through the hell of chemo. The President’s budget would cut Fred Hutchinson’s funding by more than two-thirds.
“So cutting domestic spending is not a political issue. It is a policy choice, and a very real deed that has an incredible impact on the lives of Americans just like national security, just like making sure North Korea doesn’t hit us with nuclear weapons. Making sure that terrorist groups don’t attack us, curing cancer, stopping bridges from collapsing, these are policy priorities. And because we’re not making budget choices, these are priorities that get pushed aside.
“We heard yesterday that in a time of war, you make domestic sacrifices. We’ve read all about World War II and the domestic sacrifices that were made at that time. But you know what else you do in a time of war? You don’t cut taxes. You raise them. Prior to 2001, we had never gone to war without raising taxes or issuing war bonds or raising more revenue. Yet, we are unwilling to do that. I care enough about the national security of our country that I would raise taxes and pay for it. That’s the choice I would make. These choices are not being made in this so-called budget resolution, and I think that places us at risk.
“Lastly, the nondefense discretionary budget is the State Department; it’s USAID; it’s the Department of Homeland Security. If you’re going to have a national security strategy, it can’t just be the military. And you know who will tell you that more often than anybody? The military. They don’t want to bear the burden alone. Secretary Mattis said it best when he told us, I believe, that ‘If you’re going to cut diplomacy, if you’re going to cut development, you had better give me four more divisions. Because that’s how many more wars I’m going to have to fight.’ All of these things matter to the national security of this country.
“It is more likely than not that this bill—with all the good work that has been done on a number of different policy provisions unrelated to the money—that all of that is in jeopardy because this bill has at least $72 billion in it over the budget caps, that is not likely to be there come October 1 or the end of the year. So, if we don’t make the choices on the budget that reflect the priorities of the entire country, that actually reflect the budget numbers, then we are doing a disservice to the men and women who serve our country. It’s a good bill. It is going to be better once we figure out the budget issues and actually start making the choices that are necessary to make us stronger in every aspect of society.”
Washington, D.C. – Today, House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) made the following statement about the decision to delay the date for transgender accessions to the military:
“This decision to delay transgender accession to the military is unjustified and morally wrong. The Defense Department has already studied the issue extensively and found that there are no substantial practical obstacles to allowing trans people to join the military and defend their country. To the contrary, many are already serving in the military and doing so with distinction. The only remaining obstacle is prejudice.”
Washington, D.C. – Today, House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) made the following statement on the passage of the FY 18 NDAA out of Committee:
“The FY 18 NDAA contains a number of provisions that are important for the national security of the United States. I commend Chairman Thornberry for the efficiency and bipartisanship with which the Armed Services Committee developed this legislation. The Chairman is always committed to getting the job done on behalf of our men and women in uniform and, under his leadership, our Committee continues to be a model that I hope the rest of Congress can emulate.
“This legislation includes needed measures to strengthen deterrence against Russia, and to develop a comprehensive strategy against President Putin’s effort to corrode and undermine democracy worldwide. It also makes substantial investments to fill genuine military readiness needs; strengthens congressional oversight of sensitive cyber operations; acknowledges the importance of climate change to national security; and steers away from policy riders that could distract from the job of securing the United States and our allies.
“I am, nevertheless, concerned about Congress’s continued unwillingness to make realistic choices about how we fund our national security. We have not adopted a budget resolution, we do not have a clear plan to lift or modify the caps imposed by the Budget Control Act, and it is unclear whether the amounts authorized in this bill will ultimately correspond with reality. I do not believe that we can afford to continue cutting taxes and insisting deficits must go down without raising revenue, nor can we impose devastating cuts on our other urgent national priorities while denying the need to prioritize which defense programs will best enhance our national security.”
Washington, D.C. – Today, House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) will host a press conference unveiling the Fostering Unity Against Russian Aggression Act of 2017. The press conference will occur at 10:45am ET in room 2118 of the Rayburn House Office Building. Ranking Member Smith released the following embargoed statement on the bill, policy summary of the bill, and bill text:
“Today, we are witnessing some of the most fundamental threats to our democratic values and to the cohesion of our alliances since the beginning of the post-World War II era. President Putin’s campaign to erode our institutions poses a genuine threat to our system of government and our way of life.
“It is time for us to recognize that this challenge must become one of the central concerns of U.S. national security strategy, and that if we do not stand up to this menace, we stand to lose much of what we have sacrificed to build and preserve during the life of our country. This threat merits a comprehensive response that will deter Russian aggression, strengthen allied and partner defenses, and boost our cohesion while including measures to reduce the risk of nuclear war and avoiding a reckless plunge into a new nuclear arms race.
“President Trump has only exacerbated this problem, belittling our allies and partners, embracing dictatorships, and calling into question our collective security commitments. In this situation, Congress has a responsibility to do its utmost to push back against these dark trends.
“This bill represents a forceful and responsible counter to Russia’s provocations. It is an attempt to lay the foundations for a new security effort to combat the spread of Putinism and increase the resilience of democratic societies.
“It is only one component of such an effort, but it a step we must take. I hope that Congress will include these proposals in the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2018, and build on them as we seek to preserve democracy and freedom.”
The Fostering Unity Against Russian Aggression Act of 2017
Summary: The Russian Federation has pursued a deliberate campaign to undermine democracies around the world and weaken U.S. alliances and partnerships. The United States government has not developed a comprehensive response to this danger, including efforts to enhance military deterrence, respond to aggression, and punish Russian violations of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, while acting responsibly to reduce the risk of miscalculation and accidental nuclear war. The Fostering Unity Against Russian Aggression Act of 2017 would lay the groundwork for such a response.
o Requires the Secretary of Defense to develop and implement a comprehensive Russia strategy, which would allow for the alignment of U.S. and allied efforts to deter and respond, if necessary, to Russian aggression.
o Mandates a plan to boost stocks and pre-positioning of forward-deployed conventional precision-strike munitions in order to increase conventional deterrence against Russia.
o Supports the U.S. interest in strategic stability by requiring parallel planning to reduce the risks of miscalculation and unintended consequences that could precipitate a nuclear war.
o Requires a plan to impose sanctions on Russia to punish its violations of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.
o Mandates an assessment of the impacts, logistical requirements, strategic need, and cost of stationing additional permanent forces in Europe.
o Mandates an assessment of training ranges and facilities in Europe, any capability gaps and requirements for improvements in those facilities, and training requirements for additional permanent or rotational forces in Europe.
o Mandates plans to counter Russia’s military capabilities, including unmanned systems, electronic warfare, and long-range precision strike capabilities, as well as a plan to accelerate programs to improve U.S. military operability in GPS-denied environments.
o Mandates delivery of a whole-of-government strategy to counter Russian unconventional warfare efforts, as required by Section 1097 of the FY 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (Pub. L. No. 114-92).
o Strengthens efforts to counter Russia propaganda aimed at undermining U.S. and allied national security by prioritizing funding for the NATO Strategic Communications Center of Excellence, recognizing the Russian Information Group established by EUCOM, and encouraging greater leveraging of the U.S. Global Engagement Center.
o Strengthens cyber cooperation with NATO partners and regional allies by emphasizing bilateral training, and prioritizing funding and collaboration with the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence.
o Requires an assessment of Naval efforts as a component of the comprehensive Russia strategy, and highlights the need for increased availability of fast-attack submarines as noted in the 2016 Force Structure Assessment (2016).
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“President Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement is a disastrous move that undermines the most significant global climate change agreement to date. Either the President does not understand or simply does not care about the devastating impact global climate change will bring about.
“As the world’s second-largest polluter, emitting fifteen percent of global emissions, but with only about five percent of the world’s population, the United States has a moral obligation to reduce carbon emissions. The Administration’s action also shows a disturbing ignorance of our country’s role as an international leader and a complete disregard for the proven science and consequences of a changing climate.
“With sea-levels continuing to rise, global temperatures increasing, and record droughts and fires destroying communities, it is irresponsible to abandon the international community. Across the world, extreme weather events and climate change disproportionately impact people and communities of color and those living in poverty. The United States and the international community have supported advancements in global health, stability, and democracy to combat climate change while making strides in promoting policies focused on expanding environmental justice. I have been heartened to see that combined efforts have created new jobs, increased standards of living, and lifted millions out of poverty. Now is not the time for the United States to turn its back on progress and our international partners.
“The fight to prevent a changing climate does not stop today. In response to the Trump Administration’s failure to lead, we must support the actions of our local leaders as they implement policies that prioritize improvements to public health and investments in programs that mitigate the growing dangers of climate change. I am proud to represent a district that prioritizes a sustainable relationship with nature, and I take my commitment to protecting our environment seriously. I will continue to fight for policies that allow for future generations to lead prosperous and healthy lives.”
Washington, D.C. – Today, House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA) made the following statement about the President’s defense budget request:
“President Trump’s budget fails to provide us with a realistic plan for modernizing the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal. Instead, he would continue to pour taxpayer dollars into an unnecessary and impractical $1.2 trillion effort to improve and sustain more than 4,000 nuclear weapons. In this budget, the Department of Energy asks for an additional $1 billion to modernize nuclear weapons activities. That is an 11% increase compared to FY17 and a 46% increase since 2013. The budget also calls for significant spending on a new nuclear cruise missile—$850 million, or an increase of $535 million above FY17 in the Department of Energy and Air Force budgets—and a new ICBM system.
“Many of these requests should have been delayed until the administration completes a Nuclear Posture Review to determine how many and what kind of nuclear weapons we need. With over 4,000 nuclear weapons, enough to destroy the world several times over, it is time to prioritize what we need to keep the country secure and free up funding for more essential defense programs, rather than fueling a dangerous nuclear arms race while spending approximately $30 billion a year on existing and next-generation nuclear weapons.”