Mike Levin: “while we hope the Senator from Arizona is right and we can complete the bill this week, we also are aware of the fact…”

“while we hope the Senator from Arizona is right and we can complete the bill this week, we also are aware of the fact that on Friday, we do have to leave here somewhat early because of the Jewish holidays. That will be only part of the day. I hope we can make tremendous progress this week. It may be a bit optimistic in terms of finishing it this week. That is going to depend on the cooperation of our colleagues. We have hundreds of amendments. We need colleagues who can clear many of them, and we need time agreements on the rest. It depends on our colleagues. We are going to do everything we can to continue a great tradition here. May I say, this is the 46th year in a row that the authorization bill has come to the floor, and we are not going to break the record of having an authorization for every one of those previous 45 years. We always had it because of the provisions of the bill which are so important--the pay and benefits and the support of not only our troops but also their families. When the Senator from Arizona made reference to the Wounded Warriors legislation, I know our Presiding Officer, Senator McCaskill, because of her active role and participation in that legislation, understands precisely what we are saying. That legislation is so important that it is not only in the bill but it is in a separate bill which was passed that is now awaiting, hopefully, a resolution between the Senate and the House.”