Kelly Ayotte: “I would like to join in the comments of my colleague from New Hampshire and the concerns she has expressed, along with…”

“I would like to join in the comments of my colleague from New Hampshire and the concerns she has expressed, along with my other colleagues who serve on the Armed Services Committee. But, first of all, I thank Chairman Levin and Ranking Member McCain again for their tremendous leadership on the Defense authorization bill. We have conducted a tremendous amount of work in a short period of time, continuing the long-running, proud tradition of the Senate Armed Services Committee of professionalism and bipartisanship in support of our troops and our national security. This is a bill of which we can be proud. In a time of war, this bill supports the men and women of our Armed Forces and their families and authorizes the equipment, training, and resources our servicemembers need to complete their missions. While I am very proud of this bill and pleased that many of my provisions to reduce wasteful spending and maintain military readiness have been included in the final conference report, I also share the concerns of my colleague from New Hampshire, Senator Shaheen, and other colleagues who serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee--both substantive and procedural concerns--regarding the depot provisions, sections 321 and 327, that were included by the House in the conference report.…”