Daniel Inouye: “the bill before us, as noted by the Senator from Alaska, includes $74.4 billion. Of that amount, $73.3 billion is under…”

“the bill before us, as noted by the Senator from Alaska, includes $74.4 billion. Of that amount, $73.3 billion is under the jurisdiction of the Subcommittee on Defense. The vast majority of this funding, approximately $42.5 billion, is recommended to cover the costs of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. With 150,000 military personnel in Iraq and another 18,000 in Afghanistan, the funding included in this bill is essential to support our forces. The bill also includes $12 billion to repair and replace equipment damaged in the operations abroad. This funding will allow the military departments to reequip our forces who are returning from combat. Without these funds, our military would not be equipped to meet future crises. The bill provides $5.3 billion for new equipment for our Army and Marine forces as they restructure their forces to create additional combat capability. While some may question whether these funds qualify as emergencies, it should be clear that our military forces will need these funds as they begin restructuring transformation. Finally, the remaining funds are provided to support those nations which are taking part in the operations abroad, including training and equipping the Afghanis and Iraqis, and to support related efforts for recruiting, morale welfare, recreation, and other military personnel needs. I support this bill, and I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this measure. I thank the Chair. Mr.…”