Bob Dole: “I have great respect for Chairman Warner and Ranking Member Levin for their exemplary work on this conference report…”

“I have great respect for Chairman Warner and Ranking Member Levin for their exemplary work on this conference report which will go so far toward improving our Nation's defenses and giving our men and women in the Armed Forces the resources they need. It is a great privilege to serve with these two outstanding leaders on the Committee on Armed Services. For the thousands of North Carolinians serving overseas, this bill is most important for them and for their families. One of the most fundamental duties of the Federal Government is to provide for the common defense. As I have said so often, if our young men and women are being called into harm's way, they must have the best equipment, the very best training, and the highest morale. With this bill, we are giving them just that. This legislation provides a 3.7-percent pay raise to all of our uniformed service personnel, and it continues the family separation allowance that helps provide much needed dollars for spouses and children when their loved ones are deployed. There is a provision to continue special pay for duty in hostile fire or imminent danger. I am also pleased that the housing needs of our military personnel and their families are so strongly supported in this bill.”