WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the highest-ranking Republican on the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), again pressed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. to bring the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to the Senate floor. The NDAA includes the bipartisan defense topline increase of $25 billion, which Senator Wicker secured to meet the immediate threats posed by the new axis of aggressors: China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.

Specifically, Senator Wicker noted that Majority Leader Schumer’s delay has emboldened the axis. Just in the last week, they have threatened U.S. and allied sovereignty and safety through shows of force off the coast of Alaska, attacks on Israel, and missile launches in the Red Sea.

Senator Wicker additionally noted that in yesterday’s SASC hearing, a group of bipartisan experts suggested that the United States significantly increase defense spending, including up to five percent of gross domestic product. The SASC-passed NDAA would be an important first step toward that recommendation.

These delays from Schumer, Senator Wicker contended, amount to putting partisanship over national defense. Senator Wicker’s speech follows repeated efforts to urge Majority Leader Schumer to initiate NDAA floor consideration.

Read the remarks as delivered below or watch them here.

Madam President, I want to congratulate and thank my colleague from West Virginia for her remarks and for her leadership to make America strong again, so that we can have peace through strength.

The distinguished Senator mentioned a hearing that the Armed Services Committee had yesterday. Our witnesses were two distinguished experts in the field of national security.

The Democrat who testified before us was none other than former Representative Jane Harman of California, a high-ranking committee chair when she was in the House of Representatives, a loyal Democrat, but someone who understands that we are not where we need to be under this administration when it comes to national defense.

The other witness was Eric Edelman, a very distinguished diplomat and ambassador. And their message was, absolutely, as the senator said, [that] the United States is not ready to face, and to face down, and to deter this axis of aggression that threatens the United States as we have not been threatened since 1945.

Those are not my words. Those are the words of this bipartisan commission, on a unanimous basis. We are more threatened as a nation than we have been since 1945, and we know what was happening during that decade.

Now just over a year ago, Madam President, in a late-night vote after a long, long day, 86 senators stood together [to] pass the National Defense Authorization Act and advanced American security.

As I say, we had spent a full day with debates. We had 24 roll calls, we passed 121 amendments – the most ever adopted on the floor for such a bill – and we overwhelmingly passed the Senate version of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act.

We did it in the light of day so that every American could see how their senators stood on important issues.

That was last year. Over the past several days, we could have done the same thing with this year's National Defense Authorization Act.

We could have followed the same procedure. But for whatever reason, and I'll speculate on those reasons, the Senate Majority Leader has allowed politics to stand in the way of such progress – of our national security obligations – preventing Americans from seeing in the light of day how their elected senators feel on some very controversial issues, of taking up this important legislation that we do every year in an open process.

The United States Senate Armed Services Committee has worked hard this year to develop our 2025 NDAA.

It's a bill that reflects the overwhelming bipartisan consensus of the committee, and I'm pleased to report – and Americans now know – that in a bipartisan vote, the committee added a $25 billion budget topline increase, specifically designed to address the rising threats of this axis of aggressors: China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran. And their proxies.

We are entering a long presidential leadership transition period, and we need to present a strong front to that axis of aggressors, that present – as the commission unanimously said – the most dangerous threat we've had since 1945.

The tyrants of these adversaries are watching our every move. They know we haven't taken up this bill in an open process. They’re looking for every vulnerability.

By passing the NDAA under regular order, we could have shown them that the United States Senate backs our service members to the hilt, and we intend to repair the damage that has occurred to our national defense.

Instead, Majority Leader Schumer has allowed the bill to collect dust.

The $25 billion topline increase was a bipartisan choice. And I am grateful to members on both sides of the aisle for supporting that in the committee. But the Majority Leader has somehow been afraid that the vote – although passed in a bipartisan measure – would reflect badly on the Biden-Harris administration.

The political partisanship caused him to prevent a full debate on the NDAA. Basically, there are a number of sensitive, leftist issues that the Leader wants to prevent some of his vulnerable members from having to vote on. Pure and simple: we shouldn't let political calculations dictate our national security decisions.

Our enemies are working together, and we are not prepared to defend against them.

Don't ask this senator from Mississippi. Ask the bipartisan commission.

Our enemies are helping each other sow chaos around the world: in Israel, Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific, Venezuela – where an election was stolen, just a few days ago.

A snapshot of events from the past week gives us a glimpse of this trend.

On Wednesday of last week, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke before Congress. In my opinion, his remarks were among the most stirring and profound speeches ever delivered to a joint session of Congress.

In clear and factual language, Prime Minister Netanyahu testified to the threat from Iran and its proxies. Iran is backing Hamas and Hezbollah, two terrorist organizations who seek nothing short of the elimination of the Jewish state in Israel. Iran has armed the Houthis, another terrorist group, who barrage our Navy sailors in the Red Sea.

The same day as the Prime Minister's address, Russia and China performed their first-ever joint military flight exercise [near U.S. airspace] – first ever in history, Russia and China together. And they did it directly approaching Alaskan airspace – American airspace.

The following day, U.S. prosecutors brought charges against a North Korean operative with cyberattacks on American hospitals and military assets. This is dangerous.

Over the weekend, Hezbollah continued assaulting Israel from the north. The terrorist group launched a horrific rocket attack, killing 12 Israeli children on a soccer field – on a soccer field, Madam President.

These incidents are not isolated. Each aggressor receives growing support and encouragement from the others, and they follow up on the atrocious October 7th terrorist attack that killed so many Israeli and American civilians, babies, women, children, husbands, and wives last year.

Yesterday, the Senate Armed Services Committee heard testimony from the National Defense Strategy [Commission], as the distinguished senator from West Virginia said.

And I would again emphasize that they didn't mince words. They agree with the recommendation of my white paper that the United States needs to get back to Ronald Reagan's peace through strength and spend up to five percent of our gross domestic product on our security.

We need to develop the kind of strength that keeps the axis of aggressors from growing stronger. We need to develop the kind of strength that keeps the axis [of] aggressors from doing anything foolish that would plunge the world into a war.

Leader Schumer should appreciate the stakes and urgency of this moment and the need to act now to send a strong message now. And to do it with the sun shining on it, in the light of day.

He should have brought the bipartisan NDAA to the floor instead of covering up for the Biden-Harris administration – instead of shielding vulnerable Democrats from issues like the left-wing social policy that is being forced on our military, and from using the Department of Defense resources, preventing our DOD from securing the border and take on the cartels.

There's no time to waste. While the Democratic leader avoids tough votes, our adversaries launch more missiles. When our leaders place politics above strong defense policy, when America shows weakness, more towns elsewhere fall into the hands of evil regimes.

In this moment of heightened global instability, we have missed a chance to project the kind of American strength that promotes peace. And because of the Leader's actions, we will not be able to take this bill up in in the light of day.

It will be written in secret by a handful of people in a closed room, and that will be the final version.

I regret this. I'm sorry that the Leader has missed a great opportunity to send a strong signal to our enemies in the light of day, and to let [the] American people know how their elected senators stand on these important issues.

I yield the floor. Thank you, Madam President.