Jerry Lewis: “I am very pleased today to bring before the House the 2004 defense appropriations bill. It is a bill that reflects very…”

“I am very pleased today to bring before the House the 2004 defense appropriations bill. It is a bill that reflects very much the direction of the Commander-in-Chief as well as the Department of Defense regarding the war on terrorism that we are pursuing in the Middle East at this point, but also recognizing its great threat around the world. The bill itself is a very, very good bill that I highly commend to the Members, Mr. Chairman. I must say that in terms of its allocation, I am a bit disappointed, for the bill before us is in the neighborhood of $3 billion below the President's request. But having said that, we did provide some reallocation that helps some of our other bills, and in the meantime, we are doing all we can to recoup some of those dollars by way of other venues. Having said that, the bill is a very balanced bill, and we have made every effort to reflect the will of the House as well as the needs of our men and women who are representing us so well around the world.”