Daniel Inouye: “I wish to join my leader in expressing my condolences and my sadness. It is ironic that at this moment we are…”

“I wish to join my leader in expressing my condolences and my sadness. It is ironic that at this moment we are considering a measure which is something that is very important to him. Mr. President, I rise to express my strong support for the measure pending before us. The measure includes some $453.5 billion for the Department of Defense. As the chairman stated, it includes $50 billion to help offset the cost of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for the first several months of fiscal year 2007. This is a very good bill, and all of my colleagues should thank Chairman Stevens for his efforts. And believe me, it wasn't easy. Everyone in the Senate knows how difficult it is to write a Defense bill, but this year's challenge was particularly great because the committee's 302 allocation required the Defense Subcommittee to cut $9 billion from the requested amounts. As a result, this bill is $13 billion below the amount the Senate has already approved for Defense authorization this year. However, it is also true that if supplemental funds are excluded from comparison, the recommended funding is still $15 billion more than was provided in fiscal year 2006. This is a tough bill but an exceedingly fair one. It provides for the essential requirements of the Department of Defense while holding down the growth in the budget. The committee did a tough review of the real needs of the Defense budget.…”