C. W. Bill Young: “Mr. Chairman, one of the many responsibilities that members of this subcommittee have is to look out for the taxpayer…”

“Mr. Chairman, one of the many responsibilities that members of this subcommittee have is to look out for the taxpayer and make sure that their tax dollars are spent wisely, and at the same time make sure that we provide enough money to ensure our national security. On this particular program, the F-22, previous program stretchouts have delayed completing the F-22 by nearly 3 years with a cost growth of $1.8 billion. We could have used that $1.8 billion somewhere else. Additional slowdowns or growth time involved in the program will cost additional money. The gentleman's reduction, as recommended by the Obey amendment, would postpone indefinitely the deployment of the F-22 at the time we are now beginning to build the airplane. Any reduction in this program could be very costly, in fact it could lead to as much as a 40-percent increase in the cost of the balance of this program. This subcommittee is trying to play catchup. We are trying to pay off some credit card bills that developed over the years. Mr. Chairman, we are trying to make sure we conduct defense procurement on a very strict, businesslike basis. This amendment will upset all of those plans.”