Rob Andrews: “I am honored to support this bill in his name, and thank the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton) for his contribution.…”

“I am honored to support this bill in his name, and thank the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton) for his contribution. America stands today as perhaps the greatest military power in global history; but as we have learned in the last 7 months, even great powers are faced with great challenges. I support this bill because I believe it affirms two of our greatest strengths, and it begins to deal with two of our greatest challenges. First of all, it affirms the strength that is the most premium strength of the American military structure, the men and women who serve their country. By raising the pay of those men and women by 4.1 percent, by supplementing their medical and other benefits considerably, although not enough, this bill is a good step in the right direction. Second, as a member of the Subcommittee on Research and Development, I am particularly pleased that we have before us today a bill that will make the greatest investment in research and development in our Nation's history.”