Congresswoman Tsongas has language that she has submitted to be included in the NDAA. And we please ask you to support that language which would solve this problem and require the Department of Defense to issue Berry compliant, Berry…

All I am asking, sir, is that the Department of Defense obey the law and make a standard issuance piece of equipment, athletic shoes, that are fully Berry compliant.

please include Chairwoman Tsongas' language into the appropriate parts of the law that requires the Department of Defense to obey the Berry Amendment law and issue athletic shoes, Berry Amendment athletic shoes for our recruits.

Now, my request, Mr. Thornberry, if I may, is simply that the Secretary of Defense conduct a study such that we know what the cost is to our guardsmen and our reservists for this travel beyond 50 miles.

It is a small amount of money, and it has done a lot of good.

I am very disappointed and, indeed, in some ways shocked, that the administration did not include any funding at all for this program.

I think it is important to note that the heroin epidemic affects tiny towns, rural areas, as well as our larger cities.

We do need a more cooperative and aggressive approach to get after these terrible con artists.

In response to this problem, Senator Leahy and I have introduced a bill to greatly toughen the penalties for straw purchasing and illegal firearms trafficking.

I would express my alarm and concern that there is not sufficient funding, and certainly encourage you to do whatever is possible.

My heart goes out to the families in Puerto Rico. I don't know how you got into this mess.

I hope you will have a listening session in a rural area--we talked about that in my office--as opposed to just large urban areas like L.A. and DC.

Even if they were reworded to say, was your pain attended to or managed, rather than being worded in the way they are, I think it would help.

As Senator Collins mentioned in her opening remarks, seniors are inextricably and often unwittingly linked to increased availability of prescription opioids.

As a result, 26 Senators signed a letter that I spearheaded with Senator Heidi Heitkamp to Secretary Burwell asking CMS to take a look at the results of those well-intentioned questions.

your request for additional funding is something I certainly support, and I hope that we can continue to enhance this

we have to address it when we are back in our home State, and people are always asking us, how is the Federal government helping?

It's not deterrence if it's not articulated.