Political Quotes

“As a ranking member of the Subcommittee on Terrorism and Unconventional Threats, I believe the product before us today is, on the whole, a solid proposal. This committee pledged to make this year the Year of the Soldier, and I think we made great strides in achieving that goal. We have a well-deserved pay raise for our troops. I am pleased that this legislation authorizes critical force protection resources, including $329 million for up-armoring Humvees, $358 million for add-on armor kits, and $421 million for interceptor body armor. This fulfills all of the shortfalls, including on the Army's unfunded requirements list, which I am disappointed that the administration failed to request. The committee has also included language that I put forward requiring the Department of Defense to report to Congress on the lessons learned from its failure to expeditiously field protective equipment to our troops in Iraq.”