I will just conclude by pointing out that we've heard some disagreements here about the nature of ballistic missile defense. But to my core point, there is much in this bill that has been embraced by both sides of the aisle because both…

I also wanted to make reference to the excellent work that's been done in this bill in the area of our missile defense program. Now, there are obviously disagreements over what the structure of that program ought to be; but when one looks…

Mr. Speaker, if you love your country, you ought to be able to serve your country. That's the change that Congress is talking about today. The minority is opposing an amendment that doesn't exist. We've heard voices on the minority side…

The committee supports this amendment because we support Mr. Sarbanes' approach of merit-driven decision-making. The OMB will oversee this process. We believe it will improve quality and protect the taxpayers. We support the amendment.

I think that the process that my friend from California lays out is a correct one, that there should be wide solicitation of views from those who wear the uniform, and there will be. And the amendment that Mr. Murphy will be offering later…

I think many Americans don't really place whether gays and lesbians can serve in the military as the number one thing they worry about in national security. I think they're probably more worried about something like a nuclear IED going off…

The best way to defend this country is to have every person who is willing to serve her have the opportunity to do so and who is able to do so. That's the intention of the Murphy amendment which, frankly, there have been a series of…

The question has been not ``if'' we are going to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell but when and how. The Murphy amendment says that the policy will not be repealed. It will stay in effect until such time as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of…

It is very important that we take assessment of the excellent ideas in this bill that both parties support. Much of the debate this afternoon and this evening has obviously been consumed by points of controversy, but there are some major…

The gentleman from Indiana's point about the servicemembers being listened to is absolutely right, which is why Mr. Murphy's amendment says--I will comment since he did--if after hearing the comments of the servicemembers the Secretary of…

McGovern-Jones-Welch is a straightforward, bipartisan amendment. It requires the President to certify that the Afghanistan Independent Election Commission and the Afghan Electoral Complaints Commission have the professional capacity, legal…

Members should ask themselves these questions in deciding this issue: When it comes to saving money, would you rather have two people competing or one for your business? When it comes to protecting the fleet, the ability to fly, would you…