Susan Collins: “the national security supplemental before us is of profound importance to America's security. It will provide updated…”

“the national security supplemental before us is of profound importance to America's security. It will provide updated, modern, effective munitions to our troops, rebuild our flagging defense industrial base, allow our Navy to continue its vital operations in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, and support our allies. Now, time does not permit me to correct every misunderstanding and misrepresentation about this bill that we have heard on the Senate floor and elsewhere, but I do want to correct some of the most egregious misstatements because the American people should have the facts. The defense supplemental bill before us would strengthen our own military by providing $35 billion to restore our military readiness, modernize our arsenal of democracy, and rebuild our defense industrial base. It would send a strong message to Putin that his goal--his dream--of capturing free, democratic nations like Ukraine will not be allowed to succeed. It would reassure our closest ally in the Middle East, Israel, which is battling terrorists who have killed more Israelis--more Jews--in a single day since the Holocaust, who have taken as hostages babies and the elderly, and who are using innocent Palestinians as human shields. It would help deter a rising and menacing China, whose navy now exceeds the size of our own. Each of these investments is in our self-interest. It makes America more secure. A claim was made yesterday that this bill gives $238 million to increase U.S.…”