Political Quotes

“I thank the senior Senator from Alaska. I appreciate that. I rise today to speak in support of the NDAA, the National Defense Authorization Act, which we are currently working on. The NDAA is clearly one of the most important pieces of legislation we take up in Congress because it authorizes vital programs designed to keep our Nation secure and our people safe. We have worked very hard to make sure the bill upholds the nuclear missions at our missile bases, as well as unmanned aerial systems--the UAS missions--that have emerged as a vigorous part of our Nation's defense. I commend the chairman and the ranking member for their good work in bringing this bill to the floor. It is a massive undertaking. In particular, I thank them for their support on some important priorities. This bill fully authorizes programs to sustain our strategic forces, including plans to upgrade the Minuteman III ICBM, the venerable B-52 bomber, and our nuclear cruise missiles. The bill also fully authorizes the Global Hawk program, which is proving its worth every day and demonstrates the value of unmanned aircraft in performing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions. The Appropriations Committee, on which I serve, approved the National Defense Appropriations Act last month, putting in place the funding to support our armed services.…”