John Rice Carter

You know, I spent 20 years as a problem solver for the--as a judge, so listening to that recruitment thing, I have got an idea here I want to think--want to run by you.

We have got to get that fixed.

I want the exact same thing, that all those motor pools look the same.

Motor pools are critical to readiness of our Army.

But that's the thing I wanted to--those guys working on that hot engine out there in the sun at Fort Hood, it is criminal.

We have got to make the highest priorities about these workplaces.

If we are going to be military construction, we ought to be doing this where we have oversight over it and can do it.

And we are all about making the Army still the most lethal force on the face of the globe and a place where our families--Army families can be comfortable and feel that they are not forgotten by our country.

There is no Nation that can defeat our combined joint land forces, and together, they proactively and ably defend our Nation's interests in liberty.

Facilities and infrastructure makes soldiers better fighters, also supporting their families and their happiness back home.

Over the past 10 years, the VA research program has increased by $300 million, 52 percent.

Ladies, I am pleased to see the VA is expanding its research on burn pits and toxic exposures.

I think there is not a member of this committee or any of us who work in the area of defense that like CRs.

We have terrible issues that are going on across the board, and we just can't be reducing our budget.

What area does a burning burn pit affect people? Do you have any idea?

The Burn Pit Air---what we call the Airborne Hazards Registry is an important part for them to sign up for and to get those tests and evaluations

I appreciate the proposed increases for programs and research related to military environmental exposures within fiscal year 2023.

We are very proud and happy to have each of you here to keep us informed.

It is time for us to dig in to some of those things.

Thank you for scheduling this hearing.

On their behalf, I appreciate your continued efforts to address the needs of the veterans exposed to toxic substances.

To set up a situation where we may inadvertently be creating more mandatory spending, to me, is not a good idea.

Well, mandatory spending right now is driving us over the cliff. If we don't do something about our current mandatory spending, the projection is sometime in the early 30s we are going to go over the financial cliff.

But it is not. And if we add it in as mandatory, it just means more things that are going to have the oversight of what we do in our Committee, and therefore, just moves us closer to that time when we can't pay our bills.

I am not yet convinced the new spending category is necessary or advisable.