Chris Sununu: “we have a number of Members that are going to talk about the defense provisions, the increase for funding of defense…”

“we have a number of Members that are going to talk about the defense provisions, the increase for funding of defense that is in this bill, the billion additional dollars for veterans' health care that is in this bill, and the fact that it represents $187 billion in real increases, in investment in the men and women serving in our armed services over 5 years. That is an unprecedented investment as compared to any of the budgets on this floor, whether it is yours or any other budget. So I think that the commitment is there, it is delineated clearly in the resolution, and it is a substantial increase. And it is based on the recommendations of President Clinton's own Joint Chiefs that pointed out that there is an enormous unfunded mandate in operations and maintenance and in materiel and in procurement. That is where we are focused, on the technology and the resources necessary to provide adequate defense when we are deploying more military than ever before.”