Matt Gaetz: “I am so grateful that our colleagues across the aisle have become so interested in the impact of the national debt on…”

“I am so grateful that our colleagues across the aisle have become so interested in the impact of the national debt on the American people. I only wish that, during their time in control of the White House, we had not doubled the national debt. I am similarly grateful that Members on the other side of the aisle would say that we should know the impact of legislation before we vote for it because, after all, it was former Speaker Pelosi who said: Let's vote for it so that we know what is in the Affordable Care Act. Mr. Speaker, I rise today because following an 8-year cycle of abandonment, it is time we do right by our military members and their families. I rise in support of the brave warriors stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, Naval Air Station Pensacola, and all across the globe. The 2.1 percent pay raise we provide in this appropriation is a modest downpayment on what is owed to those who put themselves in harm's way for our freedom. Our current state of military readiness is not acceptable. Half of the planes in our Navy cannot fly. Pilots are leaving. Marines are harvesting parts out of museums. Soldiers downrange don't have the unrivaled equipment they need to match their unrivaled patriotism. This $583 billion appropriation is a first step. It means 74 new F-35 aircraft. The F-35 is the most capable aircraft in the sky. Pilots have greater survivability in the F-35. This matters so much to me.…”