W. Todd Akin: “Chairman Young, I would appreciate a commitment from you to work together on the issue, the Appropriations Committee and…”

“Chairman Young, I would appreciate a commitment from you to work together on the issue, the Appropriations Committee and the Armed Services Committee, as we consider the fiscal 2012 defense budget. The Congress must ensure that marines have the equipment they need to successfully accomplish the missions they are asked to perform, and that includes amphibious assault. I appreciate your willingness to work on this. I think that what we're doing is we've got $3 billion already invested. As you say, it doesn't make sense to waste that investment, especially when you're talking about a very small amount of money to finish up. It leaves the flexibility to take a really good look at how do we accomplish that critical mission of moving marines from the ocean to the shore. So I appreciate your working on this colloquy and agreeing to where we're going.”