Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman from Alabama for yielding. Frankly, I thank him for the wonderful work he provided as a member of the Armed Services Committee to bring this legislation to the floor today. Mr. Speaker, I also want to quickly associate myself with my friend from Massachusetts' remarks about the authorization. I think he is absolutely right on that issue--we have worked together on that--and it is something that ought to happen. It is an institutional question of whether or not we retain our war-making authority, and he has done admirable work in that area. The bill, itself, which I support--and, of course, the rule and the underlying legislation--is a very important piece of legislation. I commend our friends on the Armed Services Committee for working in a bipartisan fashion, first, to make sure they stop the erosion of the end strength of the military. It is an absolutely critical thing to do. It could not have happened had they not worked together and made some tough decisions. Second, I want to point out all of the reforms in this legislation-- procurement reforms, in particular. They have gone well beyond simply appropriating money for the military as they have done some important work to put important tools in our hands that, I think in going forward, will save billions of dollars. I also commend them for fully funding a pay raise for the men and women in uniform. That is an important thing.…”