Dan Coats: “I commend the fine leadership of Chairman Strom Thurmond of South Carolina and Senator Sam Nunn of Georgia. Together…”

“I commend the fine leadership of Chairman Strom Thurmond of South Carolina and Senator Sam Nunn of Georgia. Together, they worked to achieve strong bipartisan support of this year's Defense authorization bill. The conference bill before us provides for an $11.2 billion increase to the President's Defense budget request. The increase, when adjusted for inflation, is still $7.4 billion less than last year's Defense budget. I wish to stress this point because the trend toward lower defense spending is an issue that concerns me. Given the uncertainties and adversaries our Nation will continue to face, slashing defense spending or force structure without a coherent military strategy is not the answer to preserving our military superiority into the 21st century. By the same token, the familiar path of the past--as convenient as it may be--will be less likely to lead us to the future we hope to shape. In that regard, I believe much debate remains in addressing the future of our national defense. This bill addresses many of the fundamental concerns of our military. It will improve the quality of life of our Armed Forces by increasing their pay and authorizing the construction of new barracks and military family housing. It also moves to address the critical modernization issues our military's senior leadership raised during their testimony before Congress this year.”