it is not a rhetorical flourish to say that Senate Republicans are being fully obedient to the President of the United States. The evidence of the last few days has confirmed that Republicans are not standing up for American institutions when they are tested, and they will not defend the American people when it counts the most. Through their silence, through their legislative actions, and through their votes, Republicans are allowing funds appropriated to the Department of Defense--funds that address critical military needs in their own home States--to be stolen in order to pay for the President's wall. Let me explain. The way we do MILCON, military construction, is nonpartisan. It is not bipartisan; it is nonpartisan. That means there is zero politics involved in selecting military construction projects for funding. The process goes like this: The base commanders decide what projects they need in order to support their missions and military communities. These projects are set up through the chain of command from the base command to the installation command. If the installation command says the project meets the cut and is important enough for military readiness, it is sent to the Service Chief, the Marine Corps Commandant, the Secretary of the Navy, and so on. From there, each Service Chief decides what projects to present to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and then the Office of the Secretary of Defense racks and stacks these projects.…
On the recordSeptember 12, 2019
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