Mike Coffman: “The question before us, in an environment of limited resources, is whether we fund an economic development program for…”

“The question before us, in an environment of limited resources, is whether we fund an economic development program for small business. And as a former small business owner, I certainly would think under normal circumstances that would be important. But we're doing it out of the Department of Defense budget, and we're doing it at the expense of priorities within the Department of Defense. The Department of Defense is not asking for this program. What the Department of Defense is saying is that there are shortages in funding operations and maintenance. So I believe that it's critically important to take this $250 million that the Department of Defense is now requesting and put it into an area where they are requesting. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.”