Ken Calvert: “I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I rise today in strong support of this omnibus appropriations package. As the…”

“I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I rise today in strong support of this omnibus appropriations package. As the ranking member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, I will outline why America's position in the world depends on the passage of this bipartisan bill. But first I want to thank Chair DeLauro for her hard work and Ranking Member Granger for putting this together. I thank my partner and friend, Chair Betty McCollum, for the hard work that she has put into this bill to make it a reality, and certainly the staff on both sides who have been working day and night to put this together and certainly my clerk, Johnny Kaberlie, who has done a yeoman's job of getting this done. Over the past several weeks, we have witnessed Russia invade a sovereign nation, indiscriminately killing civilians to the horror of the world. As a matter of fact, just a few hours ago a maternity ward was bombed by Russia, killing new mothers and babies just a few hours ago. And while this happens, President Xi, Kim Jong Un, and other autocrats are watching closely to see how the United States will respond. I firmly believe that today we are closer to a large-scale conflict with a near-peer adversary than we have been in recent memory. We must get this bill to the President's desk as soon as possible to respond to these acts of aggression. Weakness is provocative, and a year-long continuing resolution would undoubtedly demonstrate weakness on a global stage.…”