Ken Calvert: “I thank Ranking Member Granger and Chairwoman Lowey both for their leadership and expertise throughout this process. I…”

“I thank Ranking Member Granger and Chairwoman Lowey both for their leadership and expertise throughout this process. I also acknowledge the work of Chairman Visclosky. Mr. Chair, I am grateful for Mr. Visclosky's dedication to our U.S. servicemembers and our national security and for his willingness to listen and work with us to put together this bill. I very much appreciate the bipartisan way in which the gentleman has managed the Defense Subcommittee. It has been an honor to work with him, and I look forward to finishing our work on time. There is a lot of good work in this bill. However, the United States faces an increasingly challenging geopolitical landscape, one that requires a strong U.S. military to help maintain global peace and stability. While we have been at war in the Middle East for nearly two decades, other regions of the world have been watching us and chipping away at our military superiority. Unfortunately, the funding levels recommended in this bill are inadequate to enable us to address the needs of our military and maintain our superiority over our adversaries. The fiscal year 2020 Defense bill before the House today includes $622 billion in base funding and another $68 billion in overseas contingency operations, or OCO, funding, for a total of $690 billion. The amount is roughly $8 billion less than the request.…”