Douglas L. Peterson: “I think the bewitching hour has arrived. We have had numerous speeches on this floor over my tenure of 4 years of…”

“I think the bewitching hour has arrived. We have had numerous speeches on this floor over my tenure of 4 years of everyone saying, ``I'm for national defense, I'm for national defense, and I stand squarely behind the military of our country.'' This is an opportunity to put really the mark on the way and say, ``I truly believe it,'' by this vote. Absolutely a no vote on this particular amendment will state it is not OK to protect national defense of this country, and I applaud the works of the gentleman from Missouri [Mr. Skelton] and others who have cosponsored this amendment. I strongly stand in favor of this amendment to make sure that our national defense remains strong under all circumstances.”