Wayne Allard: “I thank Chairman Warner for allowing me the opportunity to speak in strong support of this essential bill for our men…”

“I thank Chairman Warner for allowing me the opportunity to speak in strong support of this essential bill for our men and women in the armed services. I believe it to be very fitting that we bring up S. 2549, the fiscal year 2001 Department of Defense Authorization Act, only 9 days after Memorial Day. This bill should always be more than just a funding mechanism for today's military but a fitting tribute and to show our appreciation for those who served, are serving, and will serve in the future. The Defense bill is entirely too important to be mired in politics. We must respect our military and provide them the best Defense authorization bill we can. The fiscal year 2001 Defense Authorization Act is a bipartisan effort, and I believe we all did some essential heavy lifting in committee for our warfighters. For the second year in a row, we have reversed the downward trend in defense spending by increasing this year's funding by $4.5 billion over the President's request, for a funding level of $309.8 billion. This results in a 4.4 percent increase in real growth from last year's appropriated level.”