U.S. State Attorneys General

Without the contribution that the Jones Act brings to the support of our industry there is a direct threat to national defense.

I would hate to think of an Iranian ship that has LNG that's sitting in the middle of St. Louis' port.

I represent a state that is 90 percent dependent on shipping and the Jones Act does provide us with that reliable service.

I thank the gentleman from Georgia again. He is not only a blessing to his State, he is a blessing to this Congress and to this country for his integrity, his hard work, and for his oratory. Thank you, sir, very, very much. Mr. Speaker and…

For our Federal agencies then basically the concerns that you have raised about this bill are concerns that could be addressed to allow this bill to go forward for both of you.

I would like to get a better understanding of this bill and putting it into context.

Well, I think it's important because clearly the majority of the people who enjoy our public lands are not hunters and fishermen.

Well, Hawaii has a lot of hunters and fishermen and women, so I certainly support these activities.

Do not sequester again. I have to join the chair and the ranking member to say that the sequestration was inherently deleterious to everything we were doing.

Sequestration is devastating.

I think there is some question that the software in the F-35 will provide us with a lot more capability, but only if it is working.

Absolutely the decision to declare IOC will be event-based and conditions-based based on us achieving what we have to do to deliver a combat capability to our marines.

How does the Navy plan to execute the cruiser modernization plan?

You mentioned, though, there are eight shipbuilding facilities, and four of them are only one contract away from going under.

I think it takes time for us to establish the processes and how exactly you're going to implement this fund.

If we were to go down a path of open competition... there is tremendous uncertainty.

What we want to do is add stability to the industrial base.

I share the Chair's focus on the rebalance to the Asia-Pacific.

I realize that Secretary Hagel wanted to focus on survivability.

You should get the approved requirements, that, when you don't have the JROC approval...

The important concern that I want to make sure is reflected in your assessments is that we continue our commitment to the rebalance to the Pacific.

I think maintaining our shipbuilding capacity in this country is really critical, as you mentioned in your testimony, that other countries are forging ahead.

These caps already seriously challenge our ability to meet our national security needs.

Unless modified for the years after fiscal year 2016 and beyond, I believe that they will threaten our long-term national security interests.