Peter Visclosky: “I thank the chairwoman for yielding. I would like to begin by expressing my appreciation to Ranking Member Calvert. Mr.…”

“I thank the chairwoman for yielding. I would like to begin by expressing my appreciation to Ranking Member Calvert. Mr. Calvert continues to be a tremendous partner in this process, and he is a joy to work with. I would also like to express my gratitude to the chairwoman, Mrs. Lowey, as well as the ranking member, Ms. Granger, and the other members of the committee. I would like to thank each of our incomparable staff. This legislation would not be possible without their intellectual acumen, outstanding effort, and significant personal sacrifices. Division A of the bill provides appropriations for the Department of Defense and is the result of a negotiated compromise. Despite our best efforts, I was very disappointed to recede on certain provisions of the House-passed bill, particularly those that restricted the ability of the administration to reprogram Defense funding for the border wall and several others that would have returned some balance to the oversight relationship between the executive and legislative branches. The department's actions in the past year have fundamentally damaged its relationship with this committee. With this agreement, we increase our emphasis on oversight as we move forward. Nevertheless, there is a tremendous amount of good provided in this bill. The bill provides more than ample funding for the Department of Defense to make major investments in readiness.…”