Jerry Lewis: “Mr. Chairman, I guess much of the world knows that last year our subcommittee went about what many thought to be…”

“Mr. Chairman, I guess much of the world knows that last year our subcommittee went about what many thought to be impossible, that is, we came together in a forum that was entirely nonpartisan, beginning to attempt to address the question of future tactical fighter capability for the country. At question was the reality that we had three aircraft lines moving forward in terms of research and development. We had potential production costs that were almost endless. Yet our objective out there by 2020 and 2050 was to make sure that America had the best possible tactical aircraft available for our men and women who defend freedom in the world. As we raised this question about the F-22, our point was to say this appears to be an aircraft that can meet our needs in the decades ahead. But, indeed, if we commit to that line before we know that it really works, we could commit ourselves to a procurement line that is horrendously expensive; and we could find ourselves on a pathway not similar to that which was the B-2 not so long ago. So the committee dared to ask, should we insist upon testing, actual flight testing of this aircraft before we went forward with that long-term procurement?”