this shutdown is not a negotiation situation. This is a hostage situation. The President of the United States has taken 800,000 Federal workers, tens of thousands of Federal contractors, and thousands of small businesses hostage to extort…

I think that was an important change, and I hope that Admiral Moran agrees with that, because we cannot continue to have all these waivers for the readiness of these ships before they deploy.

Meanwhile, the modernization plans are proceeding. They are being implemented per our Secretary.

I consider this to be a major improvement after years of neglect of this important infrastructure.

There is a concern about something called innovative accounting techniques to indicate to us that these 80 percent goals are being met.

Admiral Moran, how well is the current surface ship maintenance strategy performing in terms of providing sufficient throughput and timely delivery of ships back to the Fleet in terms of meeting the requirements of the Optimized Fleet…

I think when I met with you, I was very interested in making sure that when we purchase the ships, et cetera, aircraft, that corrosion is one of the factors that we would consider in putting out the contract to begin with.

I am glad to hear that Pearl Harbor is one of your first shipyard focuses.

I ask unanimous consent that Ariel Caspillo, a legislative fellow in my office, be permitted floor access for the remainder of the 115th Congress. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. ____________________

I thank my friend, the Senator from Florida, for speaking out on the critical importance of the Affordable Care Act for millions of people in our country and for calling upon this administration to support healthcare for all instead of…

I consider this to be a major improvement after years of neglect of this important infrastructure.

Can you tell what is wrong with the contractor's effort to produce these craft on time?