Political Quotes

“Madam President, today I rise in support of the fiscal year 2014 National Defense Authorization Act and to address significant challenges facing the Department of Defense. The bill approved by the Armed Services Committee includes necessary provisions to take care of our troops, such as a 1-percent pay raise and the maintenance of affordable health care fees to avoid a detrimental effect on military retirees and their families. I thank Chairman Levin and Ranking Member Inhofe for increasing authorizations for the shipbuilding budget, including an additional $100 million to support the procurement of a tenth DDG-51 destroyer under the current multiyear procurement contract. I am pleased that the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee on which I serve has also included this critical $100 million. This ship is needed in the fleet to maintain the robust forward presence our Nation requires to protect trade routes, keep the peace, and assist when tragedy strikes. When tensions flared in Syria, it was Navy destroyers that were positioned off the coast. Following the devastation of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, two U.S. Navy destroyers were among the first ships on station. Taking advantage of the opportunity to procure this ship will lock additional savings on a multiyear procurement that has already saved taxpayers $1.5 billion compared to procuring the ships individually.…”