Johnny Isakson: “I rise for two purposes--principally, to support this legislation and to thank Ranking Member Reed and Chairman McCain…”

“I rise for two purposes--principally, to support this legislation and to thank Ranking Member Reed and Chairman McCain and the other Members of the Senate for the contributions they have made in the reauthorization of the National Defense Authorization Act. In particular, I want to thank our men and women in uniform, our command and control, our military intelligence, our weather systems in the military, for the tremendous aid they have provided to us in Georgia, to the people of Florida, the people of Alabama, the people of Texas, the people of Louisiana, and the people of Mississippi during two tragic hurricanes that have taken place in the last weeks. We think of our men and women in uniform every day for what they have sacrificed for us to defend our country and to keep us safe, but sometimes we forget all of the things they do to help us when we have times of trouble. If there were ever times of trouble, Hurricane Harvey in Texas and what happened in Florida with Hurricane Irma are certainly that. Some of those assets are based in my State of Georgia, like the search and rescue mission that works out of Moody Air Force Base in South Georgia, which has been invaluable in rescue efforts in the State of Florida. So as I come to support the NDAA reauthorization, I come also to pay tribute to our men and women in uniform for all they do for us in so many ways, not just to keep us safe but also in seeing to it that, in times of trouble, they are there for us.…”