Lincoln Diaz-Balart: “I thank the chairman. Madam Speaker, I, in essence, only want to make four brief points. Number one is that, I, too…”

“I thank the chairman. Madam Speaker, I, in essence, only want to make four brief points. Number one is that, I, too, have concerns with lots of parts of this bill. There are parts that I wish were different. I think all of us do. But there are a number of reasons why I think it is important that we move forward on this legislation. Number one, this helps avoid a devastating hit to senior citizens in the district that I represent and, frankly, senior citizens across the entire country that deserve to be protected by those of us that represent them up here in Washington. Number two, when we are able to move forward on the appropriations process, which this legislation will allow us to do, that is a way that allows every Member of this House to have input. Every Member of this House has been part of that process. So for those of us who believe in regular order and inclusiveness and in making sure that every Member has a word and a say as to how we move forward, this bill will allow us to move forward on that very open process. Lastly--and we have heard this before--it is no secret that the world has gotten a lot more dangerous, and you have heard the numbers. We are devastating our military at a time when we are asking them to do more and more and when the world is becoming more and more dangerous. So let me just leave with this last, final point.…”