Walter B. Jones: “I have three military bases in my district in eastern North Carolina: Camp LeJeune Marine Base, Cherry Point Marine Air…”

“I have three military bases in my district in eastern North Carolina: Camp LeJeune Marine Base, Cherry Point Marine Air Station, and Seymour Johnson Air Force Base. Perhaps that is why I continue to join many of my colleagues who come to the floor on a regular basis to talk about the current deplorable state of our military. I hope my colleagues and I do not speak in vain, but rather that the President and his advisers will heed the concerns of the Congress and the American people, and make sure our military is adequately prepared to defend the freedoms of this great Nation. Mr. Speaker, when I returned home over the Fourth of July break, and each time I go home, I am reminded of how we take our Nation's military for granted. Many times when traveling in my district I have had the honor of meeting and talking with the men and women who currently and courageously serve our Nation, as well as some of the 77,000 retired military in the Third District of North Carolina. These are the brave men and women who, serving now or in the past, dedicated their lives to preserving peace for all America. Yet, despite the enormous responsibility they have to protect our Nation's security, they are faced with drastic cuts in defense spending, and struggle every day to do more with less. Mr. Speaker, the reality of these cuts is frightening. Our U.S. forces are 32 percent lower than 10 years ago. In 1992, when President Clinton took office, we had 18 army divisions.…”