Political Quotes

“I, like many Members, have concerns regarding another round of BRAC. I realize that this is a complicated issue for all Members of Congress, especially those with military facilities in their congressional districts. I have had this conversation with my chairman, Mr. Dent, several times. And while we both share the concerns of those Members with military bases in their district and other military facilities, the gentleman is right. We are going to need to address that we have facilities all across the country that really need to be evaluated because they are, essentially, maintaining infrastructure that is no longer needed. For example, the estimate of excess capacity for the Army is 22 percent. The Air Force's estimate of excess capacity is roughly 30 percent. Both the Army and the Air Force are strong supporters of another BRAC round. While this amendment really has no effect because we don't actually have any funding in this bill for another BRAC round, it does send the message that Congress is unwilling to tackle what is arguably a tough issue. This amendment would be, essentially, an abdication of our duties as Members of this House to ensure that taxpayer resources are being used in a wise and fiscally responsible way, and that is something that we hear from our friends on the other side of the aisle regularly.…”