Sam Farr: “I would like to rise today to congratulate the committee chair, Ike Skelton, and the ranking member, Duncan Hunter, for…”

“I would like to rise today to congratulate the committee chair, Ike Skelton, and the ranking member, Duncan Hunter, for producing a bill that includes a component that may not be a traditional national defense item but will certainly make our Nation more secure. I would further like to thank Vic Snyder, Mac Thornberry, and Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman for making sure the military will have a strong and capable civilian partner to do stabilization work in the future. For nearly half a decade, Members of Congress and foreign policy experts have been wringing their hands about our civilian capacity to effectively conduct stabilization and reconstruction operations. Now, in a bipartisan fashion, in this bill and with this en bloc amendment, we are strengthening our government's ability to respond to crisis by standing up a civilian response corps. Our Nation must do a better job, not just in waging wars, but also in winning the peace. If we cannot translate security gains into economic growth, social well-being and justice and reconciliation, all of the military power in world cannot secure long-term peace and prosperity for the world. This bill, together with this en bloc amendment, will improve our Nation's ability to win the peace. I encourage all the Members to support the en bloc amendment.”