Mike Levin: “this is no ordinary time in our country. In New York and just across the Potomac in Virginia, our fellow citizens…”

“this is no ordinary time in our country. In New York and just across the Potomac in Virginia, our fellow citizens continue to sift through the ruins left by the most deadly attack ever against the United States. Our fury at those who attack innocents is matched by our determination to protect our citizens from more terror and by our resolve to track down, root out, and relentlessly pursue the terrorists and those who would shelter or harbor them. The President spoke eloquently and forcefully last night setting out those goals. Against this background, we bring the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 to the floor of the Senate. The bill authorizes the full amount requested by the administration for national defense, including the $18.4 billion requested by the President in his amended budget request. The bill also addresses a number of important priorities identified by the Armed Services Committee. I am pleased we were able to add a significant amount of money, over $700 million, to the budget request for compensation and quality of life. We added more than $1 billion to improve the readiness of the military services to carry out their assigned missions. We added a large amount of money to advance the transformation of the military services and to improve the capability of the armed forces to meet nontraditional threats, including terrorism.”