On the recordJanuary 13, 2017
Mr. Speaker, I want to say what an honor it is to be on this Committee with Chairman Thornberry and Ranking Member Smith and their leadership. When I joined, I was told this was one of the only bipartisan committees in the House. While we had a disagreement--and I associate myself with Ranking Member Smith's remarks--I will say that, to me, the debate seemed civil. It seemed genuine on philosophical and constitutional principles. I am hopeful that, after this debate, we will be able to work in a bipartisan way. I know General Mattis was out in Silicon Valley. He has tremendous respect in the Valley for dealing with issues of cybersecurity and the future of the military. I think some of those ideas can help our troops. I look forward to working on the Committee to support those initiatives.





