Jim Inhofe: “there is this old document that no one reads anymore called the Constitution, and I think some of my colleagues should…”

“there is this old document that no one reads anymore called the Constitution, and I think some of my colleagues should give it another read today. The Constitution tells us what Congress is supposed to be doing here in DC, and that is national defense. It is right there at the top. Now, some of my colleagues don't agree with it. They don't have that as the No. 1 concern. I think the majority do, but there are some who don't. I would say this: For 61 years now, for 61 years in a row, Congress has fulfilled this duty by passing the National Defense Authorization Act to strengthen the common defense and support our troops. That is 61 years. That is a long track record. And this year will be my 62nd, and I am proud to say that I have had the opportunity to vote on over half of them in that timeframe. So I think I have a pretty good understanding of what it takes to get this bill done and the significance of this bill. The way this typically works is the House does their bill; then the Senate does ours; and then we go into conference and create a bipartisan, bicameral conference report. That is commonly, normally what takes place. But that takes time. It really takes months. You know I have been in a position of being active in this for a long period of time. So when I look at the legislative calendar right now, I get concerned.…”