Political Quotes

“I commend Chairman Thornberry, Ranking Member Smith, and the committee staff who have worked many, many long nights on the FY17 National Defense Authorization Act. I worked with Mr. Smith and members on the committee, particularly the Readiness chairman, Mr. Rob Wittman, to include a number of provisions that will improve our military readiness and continue to support the Asia-Pacific rebalance, allowing crucial infrastructure projects to move forward and requiring the Navy to report on land usage on Guam that will have positive impacts for our posture in this region. The bill provides critical funding to the Long Range Strike Bomber program as well as adds additional funding to keep the fielding of the MQ-4 program on track. I especially want to thank Ranking Member Smith for working to get a provision mandating a review of distinguished Asian American and Pacific Islander veterans who may have been unjustly overlooked in the Medal of Honor consideration included in the chairman's mark. It is important that we appropriately recognize the contributions of our brave men and women in uniform. While I am proud of these and other provisions, this bill is far from perfect. There are, once again, numerous damaging environmental provisions; and, more broadly, I am disappointed that the majority has again created a bill that circumvents budget caps, a maneuver that plays politics with our servicemembers in the field--particularly reckless in this environment.…”