Political Quotes

“Madam President, recently, there have been numerous articles in the media about the U.S. Navy's lack of amphibious ships-- one that I would like to submit for the Record, headlined ``Grounding of U.S. Marine Unit Spotlights Lack of Ships in Asia-Pacific,'' can be found online at https://www.wsj.com/articles/grounding-of-u-s-marine- unit-spotlights-lack-of-ships-in-asia-pacific-757315b4. (Mr. WHITEHOUSE assumed the Chair.) In this piece, the writer leads with how the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, a rapid response force of the Marine Corps designed for quick deployment on three Navy ships--what we call an ``amphibious ready group''--how they were forced to abandon a training exercise because the amphibious warships that they are supposed to train on were not available due to maintenance problems. Here is what the article said in part: The Marine unit's grounded status illustrates the larger obstacles the United States is facing as it tries to pivot its military to handle the challenges from China. Overall, defense officials said the Navy doesn't have enough amphibious ships to transport marines, and a central part of the Marine Corps's mission is to hop from island to island in the Asia-Pacific and harry Chinese forces in the event of a conflict. By the way, Mr. President, the Marines are really good at this. They have been doing it for decades. But they need ships.…”