Political Quotes

“Chairman McKeon, I thank you and, of course, Ranking Member Adam Smith. I rise today, Mr. Speaker, in support of the conference report for H.R. 4310. This defense bill conference report works to ensure that our men and women in uniform are well trained and equipped through the authorization of $176 billion in operation and maintenance funding, plus $62 billion for overseas operations, including Afghanistan. The conferees have restored 77 aircraft and 3,313 people to the Air Force's force structure, mostly in the Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserve, to ensure adequate resources are available to the States and the territories to respond to mobilizations, homeland defense and disaster-assistant missions. I am personally pleased that the conferees did not allow the retirement of Block 30 Global Hawks, which provide critical ISR capability. I am particularly pleased that the conference report authorizes the Secretary of Defense to establish a program to provide space-available transportation to Active Duty servicemembers and their dependents and Reserve component members and others at the Secretary's discretion. While I am disappointed that the conferees authorized percentage reductions in the DOD civilian workforce, I expect the Department to implement these reductions in compliance with the statutory requirements for a balanced workforce sized to meet mission requirements, workload, and to mitigate risks in operational readiness. Most importantly, Mr.…”