Political Quotes

“I would like to thank the chairman and the ranking member. The Defense Subcommittee has a long tradition of working closely together, and I sincerely appreciate these bipartisan efforts. Mr. Chairman, this is an extremely important and timely bill as the Department is tasked with drawing down forces in Afghanistan, is appropriately responding to the upheaval in Iraq, and is facing other challenges across the globe. Totaling $490.7 billion, the base portion of the bill is approximately $200 million above the President's request. However, after accounting for appropriate increases in Active Duty pay and housing costs, the remainder of the bill is actually below the President's proposed level. Budget caps and sequestration force difficult decisions, many of which will be debated this week. Before we begin that discussion, I want to again thank the chairman and ranking member and recognize the constraints under which they assembled the bill.…”