Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this amendment, and I am as frustrated as anybody that we are having to be here today. Secretary Carter has often said, and I agree with him completely, that the nuclear deterrent priority is our number one national security mission. But, unfortunately, that rhetoric has not matched up with the decision on this issue coming from the Secretary's office. The UH-1N fleet that is used by the Air Force Security Forces for the ICBM field security consist of Vietnam-era helos. The UH-1N program is a case study in a failed DOD acquisition process: The first move to replace the helos was in 2004. The Joint Staff validated a military requirement in 2010; The Air Force canceled the replacement program in 2011; And the SecDef recently overruled the SecAF in conducting a sole source replacement program, proposing instead a competition in 2018. Admiral Haney, Commander, USSTRATCOM, stated in February, 2016: ``Maintaining the security of our nuclear weapons requires a modern helicopter with sufficient capabilities to counter both today's and future threats. The UH-1N does not fully meet the current ICBM complex security requirements as outlined by DOD and USSTRATCOM.'' We have been warned, colleagues. Let me be clear. This is the security of nuclear weapons here at home. There is no higher priority. If we are going down the path of competition, that is fine; but we have no more time to waste.…”