John Mica: “Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First I want to thank the members of the committee for allowing me to bring forth this…”

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First I want to thank the members of the committee for allowing me to bring forth this amendment, also the Rules Committee for allowing me to have it considered by the House. This is a simple amendment, and this is an amendment that I almost think I'm offering not on behalf of myself but on behalf of our troops. I usually don't get involved in armed services matters, but I did have the opportunity to visit our troops in Afghanistan in March of some weeks past. And I was out in some of the forward operating positions in Afghanistan, and I asked the troops a question--you know, sometimes you get a few minutes of quiet time with our troops that are serving us out there in those dangerous areas out there. And I said, When I return to Congress, what could I do to help you do a better job? What would assist you? And every one of them said to me, Mr. Mica, could you change the rules of engagement? So I'm offering this amendment on their behalf and on behalf of all the servicemen and -women who should be able to defend themselves in hostile areas.…”