Wayne Allard: “before I begin my statement regarding the conference report, I want to say that my heart goes out to the families of the…”

“before I begin my statement regarding the conference report, I want to say that my heart goes out to the families of the crewman of the U.S.S. Cole in the Aden Gulf who were killed, injured, or are missing. Let it be said, that if this was a terrorist attack, the United States shall not allow this to stand without a strong response by the United States and no matter where these terrorists go, they will be found and they will be held accountable. Now to the conference report, I want to thank Chairman Warner for allowing me the opportunity to speak in strong support of this essential Defense authorization conference report which provides the needed resources for our men and women in the armed services. I believe this bill is a fitting tribute for those who served, are serving, and will serve in armed services in the future. The Fiscal Year 2001 Defense Authorization Act conference report has been a bipartisan effort and for the second year in a row we have reversed the downward trend in defense spending by increasing this year's funding by $4.6 billion over the President's request, for a funding level of $309.9 billion.”