Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, this amendment seeks to take $15.7 million out of the Air Force research, development, test and evaluation account, equal to the amount the Air Force has budgeted for sixth- generation fighter development, and places those funds into the spending reduction account for debt relief. Mr. Chairman, this amendment is not about capabilities; it is quite simply about priorities. I could understand the need for sixth- generation fighter development funding had the administration not attempted to scrap our military's only dedicated close air support platform, the A-10, citing budgetary concerns. I could understand the need for sixth-generation fighter development funding had the administration not attempted to scrap the U-2, an aging but capable aircraft that continues to provide the warfighter with actionable intelligence in some of the world's most dangerous areas, citing budgetary concerns. I could understand the need for sixth-generation fighter development funding had the administration not capped America's premier air dominance fighter, the fifth-generation F-22 Raptor, at 187 aircraft, citing, once again, budgetary concerns. And I could understand the need for sixth-generation fighter development funding if the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, a fifth- generation program I do support, was not admittedly over budget and behind schedule. Mr. Chairman, our Nation is over $17 trillion in debt and is running a budget deficit of over half a billion dollars.…”