Jerry Lewis: “Mr. Speaker, I did not intend to speak on the rule, but as I listened to the discussion, I thought it was important to…”

“Mr. Speaker, I did not intend to speak on the rule, but as I listened to the discussion, I thought it was important to point out that the base bill, the Defense Appropriations bill, that will be considered today involves some $317 billion for national security. It is designed in a fashion to meet our highest priority needs ranging from money for basic research projects that affect national security, all of the way to paying for increased pay and the health care needs of our men and women who serve in the various Armed Forces. The bill, above and beyond that, contains the supplemental; and in total, $40 billion supplemental, as the money has been distributed, I am pleased to say very much effectively supplements the work we have been about. There is slightly in excess of $20 billion from the original $40 billion package that flows to a variety of important defense needs, and because of that I am pleased with this rule. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to recognize that we do not solve problems, defense problems or otherwise, by simply throwing money at those difficulties, but rather, measuring very carefully the challenges themselves and then attempting to figure out what ways we can best apply dollars to solve those difficulties.”