Austin Scott: “I thank very much Mrs. Tauscher. It's such a pleasure to be here. This is an extraordinarily important bill, and it is…”

“I thank very much Mrs. Tauscher. It's such a pleasure to be here. This is an extraordinarily important bill, and it is timely. I think it's very important to answer one of my colleague's questions about the constitutional responsibilities. It's clear in Article I, section 2, of the Constitution. Both James Madison as well as Hamilton concurred when they mentioned not only to declare war is the duty of the Congress, not only to raise the Army, but to support the Army. Those words are there, Mr. Speaker. Now, I have been over to Iraq and Afghanistan and talked and looked at the soldiers themselves. I've gone throughout my district and talked to soldiers' families. The stress is in their eyes as you go. I've gone to Landstuhl in Germany and sat with our soldiers on every trip. I've been three times over there and three times we've been to Germany and talked. The stress is there. In the military report that was just issued, Mr. Speaker, it said that the extension of the duty, the longer the time and the stress of combat, the longer and the greater occurrences of psychological stress. Our Army may not be broken, Mr. Speaker, but it's at the breaking point, and we need to give ample time for our soldiers to come home and rest. If you care about the soldiers, vote for this bill.”