Jim Saxton: “I rise today to very sincerely thank my good friend from Missouri for his leadership in bringing this revised edition of…”

“I rise today to very sincerely thank my good friend from Missouri for his leadership in bringing this revised edition of the National Defense Authorization Act to the floor in an expedited manner. It's unfortunate that we find ourselves in this position, but through Mr. Skelton and Mr. Hunter's leadership, we were able to find a mutually agreeable compromise in an expeditious manner. On December 12, the House passed the National Defense Authorization Act, as my good friend just pointed out, by a vote of 370-49. This amended version is a good bipartisan bill, with very few changes from the original legislation. In section 1083, we ensure terrorism victims have the legal redress against state sponsors of terrorism, while granting the President the waiver authority to protect our relationship with the new government of Iraq. This provision was the crux of the issue that brought this bill back to the House after we sent it to the President, and it's something that is near and dear to many of our hearts.”