My colleagues, we are close to this vote, and what we are doing today is going down the path that we commenced after Vietnam because during Vietnam we lost 2,200 aircraft, mostly to SAM missiles. We lost aircraft that had pilots from every…

But I think we are talking about here not a government mandate. It is no more a mandate for parents to be able to have a tool to use to decide what their kids are going to see than to have a PG rating or an R rating. That is put out by at…

I wanted to say I was walking by the floor when I saw the gentleman making his presentation, and those of us on the Committee on National Security were very impressed with your plan for the Joliet Arsenal. We have waived jurisdiction so it…

the gentleman mentioned our ability to project power off aircraft carriers. I was reminded again, as we all were who watched CNN and read the front page of the newspapers, of American, I believe it was A-7 aircraft that were shot down by…

I noticed a friend of ours, the gentleman from California [Mr. McKeon], just arrived, another staunch supporter of B-2. But I think the gentleman has made an excellent point in that we have an article of leverage. We have a system that…

Compared to the B-52, the B-1 is a baby. But even then, when all the B-52's are gone, we are down to 95 B-1's. The study that was given to us, that we should be able to fight in two places at one time, we need 174 long-range bombers, we…

those are the guys on the front of Time magazine when they get captured; those are the guys that get dragged through the streets by our adversaries; those are the guys that are forced to write confessions under torture. One reason we built…

Absolutely. The POW community has had an effect on the United States Congress, House and Senate, because members of the Hanoi Hilton, being so respected and so focused upon by our colleagues and by our constituents, have come to this body…

I support him in his efforts to inject some common sense into this arbitrary application of law that defies science. The best scientists in the world have supported our situation in San Diego, where they say nature takes care of this; you…

As I understand it, this permanentizes our waiver. If we do not achieve it, we will be back in the same boat perhaps in a year or two begging the Federal Government not to force us to spend in San Diego several billions of dollars.

let me just briefly answer my friends who just spoke about the defense budget numbers. From my calculations the President's defense budget cuts $127 billion below the Bush baseline. In practical terms, that means that under this President…

I want to just tell the gentlewoman from California [Ms. Harman], my good friend, that there are 98,000 children in her district, and their parents could certainly use this $500 per child tax deduction. Working people understand that, and…

Let us get back to something that is very important to this country. These are two models of what is known as ``brilliant eyes.'' That is important to everybody who is concerned about national security. That means that if Saddam Hussein…

Let me offer to my friend that his idea that this comes out of the Secretary of Defense's office, I think, is a good one, because the Secretary of Defense himself commissions literally dozens and dozens of studies from outside groups. That…

No, Mr. Chairman. If the gentleman will continue to yield, there were two concerns expressed by the Republican leadership. One is multilateralization, bringing in the former Soviet States, Byelorus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and others, but it…

I can think of another great American, and I think that his opposition, those who opposed his idea, were in some way analogous to the Democrat Party today. That gentleman was Gen. Billy Mitchell. And Gen. Billy Mitchell dragged us kicking…

let me tell my colleagues also that two representatives from two of our national nuclear laboratories were here last week stating that they can build a space system for about 50 percent more. That is about $7.5 billion. And that, once…

this is an important policy decision that the administration is undertaking right now with respect to theater defense limitations. I think it is an extremely important issue. I would like to get a vote on it because I think it is important…

the administration, by the President's own admission, because he has sent a letter back to the Republican leadership after they initiated a letter essentially asking the President, having heard reports from the Pentagon that senior arms…

What I would like to do and what others would like to do is change the position of the administration and not constrain theater missile defense. I think it is a very difficult thing to do right now when the threat is evolving rapidly, and…

I would answer my friend that the Patriot system probably cost us a fortune. Almost everything that we did under our procurement regulations did.

My question was, Mr. Chairman, if we are going to rely on deterrence, as the gentleman has suggested with national missile defense, and not have a national missile defense, why does not that same reliance on deterrence, why is it not being…

the one thing is manifested in two words, ``shall deploy.'' I would say to the gentleman, once we have made the policy decision to deploy, at that point we then go through the process of what type of deployment will take place. I think…

I just say to my friend, Secretary Perry just appeared before us with the words I just showed him that said we can defend against an attack for $5 billion----

Mr. Chairman, like all members of our Committee on National Security, I have the greatest respect for my friend from South Carolina, and I want to thank him for all of his efforts and work with respect to missile defense. I want to also…