Congressional Record Statement of Senator Daniel K. Akaka

Mr. President, as a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I was pleased the Senate passed the House Amendment to S. 3001, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009 , today by unanimous consent. This bill follows through on the commitment that this Congress has made to our troops and their families to provide them with the support that they need and deserve. This includes a 3.9-percent across-the-board pay raise for all uniformed personnel--a half a percent more than the President's request--and a prohibition on increasing TRICARE beneficiary cost shares and pharmacy copays. It also includes a number of provisions designed to improve the readiness of our troops. For example, the bill fully funds Army and Marine Corps readiness and depot maintenance programs which will help ensure that the men and women in our armed services have the equipment necessary for them to fulfill their mission requirements. It also adds $15 million for the readiness and environmental protection initiative to fund priority projects that benefit critical mission training sites and directs the Secretary of Defense to conduct a comprehensive technical and operational risk assessment for DOD installations, facilities, and activities.

As the chairman of the Armed Services Committee's Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support, I was pleased to work toward the inclusion of a number of critically important management and acquisition policy provisions which were included in this bill. These include a provision to establish steering boards to review new requirements that could increase the costs of major weapons systems, language requiring business transformation offices for each military department and a provision requiring the DOD to establish ethics standards to prevent personal conflicts of interest by contractor employees who perform acquisition functions on behalf of the DOD. I applaud the inclusion of language that expresses the view of Congress that private security contractors should not perform inherently governmental functions in an area of combat operations and that contractor employees should not conduct interrogations of detainees during the aftermath of hostilities. However, I am disappointed that due to a large extent to the Administration's objections and the absolute need to pass this bill in an expeditious manner, we were not able to incorporate this sense of the Congress into provisions that have the force of law.

As chairman of the Veteran's Affairs Committee, I was very pleased to have worked toward the inclusion of a number of provisions related to the treatment of wounded warriors. This includes a clarification of the requirement that DOD utilize the VA criteria in establishing eligibility of retirement and disability. It also requires the Secretaries of Defense and the VA to jointly establish a center of excellence in the mitigation, treatment and rehabilitation of traumatic extremity injuries and amputations as well as a center of excellence in the prevention, diagnosis, mitigation, treatment, and rehabilitation of hearing loss. In addition, this bill includes a provision derived from legislation that I introduced to extend senior-level oversight of cooperative efforts between the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs. The Senior Oversight Committee, SOC, was formed in the wake of last year's Walter Reed scandal, to improve the efforts of DOD and VA in managing the transition from military service to veteran status for wounded servicemembers. The Senior Oversight Committee's responsibilities are not complete as long as wounded warriors are still returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, therefore, I was pleased to be able to include this language for the SOC to be able to continue its important function.

Once again, I would like to thank Chairman Levin for his strong leadership and dedication to ensuring that this bill was passed. I also want to take this last opportunity to extend my warmest aloha to my friend and colleague Senator Warner who managed this bill on the minority side. In my many years of serving with Senator Warner on the Armed Services Committee, I have never failed to be impressed by his character, graciousness, and collegiality. Mahalo Nui Loa for your friendship and for all that you have done for our nation and the members of our armed services in particular.

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September 27, 2008