Maxwell Frost: “Mr. Speaker, today our Nation is strong and free. We owe much of our strength and freedom to the men and women in…”

“Mr. Speaker, today our Nation is strong and free. We owe much of our strength and freedom to the men and women in uniform who have throughout the history of our great country been willing to stand ready to defend our country and our way of life. We should be proud of our military services and the difficult tasks we as a country have asked them to perform for us. In asking so much of them, the Congress must in turn assure each and every soldier, sailor, airman and marine, from the four-star general to the newest recruit, that the Congress will provide them with the means to carry out their difficult mission. It is our responsibility, our duty really, to examine the state of our national defenses each year. In doing so, we often find shortcomings in our ability to adequately fund the programs, missions and operations of the military. But it is important to remember that in today's world, Federal dollars are finite, and, given the fiscal restraints that the Congress has imposed upon itself in the budget agreement that has led us to a balanced budget, the Committee on National Security has done an admirable job in balancing the needs and imperatives of our far-flung security forces. H.R. 3616 keeps the promise of our budget agreement, and, in doing so, strives to fulfill our responsibilities to the armed services.”