Political Quotes

“At the outset, I want to extend my compliments to the chairman of the committee for his first NDAA bill and for the way he conducted a 19-hour markup that went until close to 5 o'clock in the morning. I also thank the ranking member, who provided just really great leadership in terms of moving that process along, and the strong vote that came out of the committee. On the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee--and Mr. Forbes ticked off some of the priorities that came through the report--I just want to add one item which, I think, is really important to note. In terms of the future challenges for the shipbuilding of this country, the replacement program for the ballistic submarine program, the Ohio replacement program, is going to cost, roughly, $70 billion to $80 billion. It has been identified by Secretary Carter on down as the top priority of the Defense Department as well as the Department of the Navy. The question is not about whether or not we are going to build that sub. The question, really, is: What is going to happen to the rest of the shipbuilding account?…”