Arlen Specter: “I rise today to join the junior Senator from Ohio and my colleague from Alabama, Senator Shelby, to urge the Chairman of…”

“I rise today to join the junior Senator from Ohio and my colleague from Alabama, Senator Shelby, to urge the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee to ensure that the Fiscal Year 2004 Department of Defense Appropriations bill we send to the President provides funding for at least one squadron of Abrams M1A2 SEP tanks for the U.S. Army's 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. Like all Americans, I proudly watched on the nightly news as the U.S. Army's Abrams tanks again proved themselves an indispensable asset in the recent war in Iraq. A critical element in the success in those battles--and any likely future conflict--is the U.S. Army's CounterAttack Corps. The armed reconnaissance regiment of the CATK is the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, which needs the most up to date equipment to best protect our fighting men and women. The 3rd ACR must be upgraded to the Abrams M1A2 SEP to reflect new technologies. The ground combat vehicle defense industrial base is critical to our national security as we transform our military services into more lethal, survivable and sustainable entities, particularly as we prepare for new programs such as Future Combat Systems. I am proud that Scranton, Pennsylvania is a critical part of that industrial base.”