Political Quotes

“Thank you, Ranking Member Smith. Mr. Speaker, I rise in full support of the FY15 NDAA. As the ranking member of the Readiness Subcommittee, I appreciate that the bill provides our men and women in uniform with the resources they need to remain trained, equipped, and ready to execute the full range of missions and operations that face our modern military. In particular, Mr. Speaker, the bill is a significant improvement over the House-passed measure and restores $818 million in cuts to the baseline operations and maintenance account. These funds will ensure that necessary repairs and upgrades to airfields and other mission- critical facilities occur. Among many other important provisions the bill also provides an additional $23 million for two additional combat training center rotations for the Army National Guard. Mr. Speaker, this bill finally lifts the restrictions on the obligation and expenditure of Government of Japan direct contributions and U.S. military construction funds that directly support the realignment of Marines from Okinawa to Guam. Finally, Mr. Speaker, we can say that the military buildup on Guam is back on track, and this critical component of our rebalanced strategy will begin in earnest soon. Over the past year there has been significant progress on the realignment, including the signing of a landfill permit by the Okinawan governor, the completion of a draft supplemental EIS document on Guam, and the delivery of a master plan to Congress.…”