Text of Senate Amendment 5959

On 2026-06-23, Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) delivered a floor speech titled "Text Of Senate Amendment 5959" in the Senate.

Text of Senate Amendment 5959

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 105 (Tuesday, June 23, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 105 (Tuesday, June 23, 2026)] [Senate] [Page S3103] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] SA 5959. Mr. KAINE submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 4784, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2027 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows: At the end of subtitle E of title XII, add the following: SEC. 1271. FULL FUNDING OF NATIONAL SECURITY PRIORITIES. (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following: (1) A report issued by the Department of State in 2023 identified a $41,300,000,000 gap between the resources made available to the Department of State and relevant Federal agencies and the resources required to effectively counter the People's Republic of China in the Indo-Pacific region. (2) The People's Republic of China (PRC) has provided some $2,200,000,000,000 in grants and loans to more than 200 countries between 2000 and 2023. (3) Through its development banks, the People's Republic of China is the world's largest provider of development finance. (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that-- (1) the United States is a beacon of democracy and freedom in an increasingly fraught world; (2) the Department of State, as a critical national security agency, must be appropriately staffed and resourced at a time when geopolitical rivals, including the People's Republic of China, are rapidly expanding their global diplomatic presences; and (3) it is imperative to empower the Department of State and relevant Federal agencies to ensure the United States can-- (A) effectively advance the national security interests of the United States; (B) maintain United States technological competitiveness; and (C) respond with flexibility to metastasizing global threats. (c) Annual Report.-- (1) Definitions.--In this section: (A) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means-- (i) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and (ii) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives. (B) Unfunded priorities.--The term ``unfunded priority'', with respect to a fiscal year, means a program, activity, or mission requirement of an element of the Department of State or another relevant Federal agency that-- (i) is not funded in the budget for such fiscal year submitted by the President to Congress pursuant to section 1105 of title 31, United States Code; (ii) is necessary to fulfill a foreign policy or national security objective or to satisfy an information requirement associated with a goal or objective outlined in the Agency Strategic Plan or prior year Joint Strategic Plans agreed upon by the Department of State and relevant Federal agencies; and (iii) would have been recommended for funding by the Secretary of State or the leadership of relevant Federal agencies if-- (I) additional resources had been available for such budget to fund such program, activity, or mission requirement; or (II) the program, activity, or mission requirement has emerged since such budget was formulated. (2) Reporting requirement.--Not later than 10 days after the date on which the budget for any fiscal year is submitted by the President to Congress, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the leadership of relevant Federal agencies, shall prepare and submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the unfunded priorities of the programs under the jurisdiction of the Secretary. (3) Elements.-- (A) In general.--Each report submitted to Congress pursuant to paragraph (2) shall include, with respect to each unfunded priority covered by such report-- (i) a summary description of such priority, including the objectives to be achieved if such priority is funded (whether in whole or in part); (ii) the additional amount of funds recommended to be made available to achieve the objectives referred to in clause (i); and (iii) budget information with respect to such priority, including-- (I) the appropriation account; (II) the expenditure center; and (III) the project and, if applicable, any subprojects. (B) Prioritization.--Each report submitted to Congress pursuant to paragraph (2) shall present the unfunded priorities covered by such report in overall order of urgency of priority among unfunded priorities. ______