Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I rise today as a proud member of the House Appropriations Committee in strong support of H.R. 6157, the fiscal year 2019 Defense Appropriations bill. This legislation makes critical investments in restoring our military's readiness, supports our men and women in uniform with the largest pay increase in 9 years, and furthers Congress' commitment to making America safer and stronger. I also want to thank Chairwoman Granger and her staff for including funding for several programs that are important not only to our Nation, Mr. Chairman, but also to my district in northeast Florida. This includes the procurement of 6 E-2D Advanced Hawkeyes, 10 P-8A Poseidon aircraft, 24 F/A-18 Super Hornets, 3 MQ-4C Triton unmanned aerial vehicles, and funding for the Air Force's potential purchase of a light attack aircraft. As a representative of Naval Station Mayport, which is the East Coast homeport for the littoral combat ship, I am especially proud to see the committee reject the Navy's request of only one LCS for this fiscal year. Procuring three of these small surface combatants, in addition to funding two LCS training facilities at Mayport in the MILCON/VA appropriations bill we passed earlier this year, is proof of Congress' continued support of this program and to the health of our Nation's shipyards. Both are essential to the future of our Navy and to our national security.…”