Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, the amendment today will do exactly the opposite of what we are trying to accomplish. This bill is not going to be able to strengthen the national defense. My colleague's amendment would directly threaten the high altitude military training aviation site that is critical to the readiness of our armed services and to the national security of the U.S. Additionally, it would make the United States even more reliant on China for critical strategic minerals. Our goals should be to enact policies that will support readiness and a sustainable and secure supply chain for critical minerals. This amendment is in direct conflict to those goals. My district is home to the national-level asset, the High Altitude Army National Guard Aviation Training Site, or HAATS. The life-saving training acquired at HAATS is vital to the military's success and readiness of our Nation. My good friend from Colorado's amendment seeks to establish five wilderness areas within the HAATS training area either immediately or in the future through a new, unprecedented land designation mechanism that the sponsor is calling ``potential wilderness.'' When this legislation was debated before the committee, no one from DOD or the National Guard Bureau, let alone the Colorado National Guard, was given the chance to testify on the legislation's potential effects on readiness.…”