Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chair, as the vice chairman of the Readiness Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee, improving road safety at and around our military facilities is an important part of maintaining and enhancing military readiness. Simply put, if our servicemen and -women can't safely drive, they can't safely train, and that puts our military at a distinct disadvantage. We have dozens of military facilities across our country, but I want to give you one example of how prioritizing road safety will improve our readiness. My district, made up of Burlington and Ocean Counties in New Jersey, is home to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. The joint base is a key military training facility, but the lack of proper investment in road safety projects has impeded our military's ability to train. By building a simple overpass over Route 539, the Army Reserve would have access to more than hundreds of additional training acres. Because one-third of Army reservists live within a short drive of under 4 hours from the joint base, additional training would save us money and give them more time with their families. Furthermore, this would allow the Army Reserve to conduct much-needed training exercises with night vision equipment used in war zones, training exercises that they simply cannot execute because the roads aren't safe enough. This is one example, but it is not the only one.…”