Porter Goss: “Mr. Speaker, there is a lot I would like to say about this rule. It is a good rule and deserves Member support. It was…”

“Mr. Speaker, there is a lot I would like to say about this rule. It is a good rule and deserves Member support. It was carefully crafted. There were many amendments. It is balanced, it is fair, and I urge everybody's support. The reason I am here with what is left of my voice today is to pay some testimony to the very fine work of the gentleman from South Carolina (Chairman Spence) and ranking member, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Ike Skelton). Things would not work as smoothly as they have without the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton), and I personally and publicly wanted to thank him, the gentleman from South Carolina (Chairman Spence), and the staffs of both committees that who have worked so hard to make sure we have come up with a good product. I, too, think we have underfunded, but we are doing the best with what we have. I urge support for the rule. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3616, the Department of Defense Authorization Bill for 1999.”