Political Quotes

“I rise to discuss the National Defense Authorization Act. After several months of debate and negotiation, the House and Senate Armed Services Committees have arrived at a completed conference agreement. This will be the 55th consecutive time that we pass a National Defense Authorization Act, which sets national security policy and provides important authorities to the Department of Defense. I want to begin by thanking Chairman McCain for his leadership during the course of this year. At his direction, the Senate Armed Services Committee undertook a robust review of how the Department develops strategic guidance and executes their business processes to help the Department operate more effectively and efficiently. I commend the chairman for making this effort a priority for the committee, and I appreciate his willingness to work in a bipartisan fashion on this important endeavor. The conference report we are considering today includes many Senate reforms, including efforts to improve the defense strategy documents produced by the Department and reorganizing the Office of Acquisition, Technology and Logistics to ensure that the Pentagon emphasizes research and innovation in support of our warfighters. In particular, one of the most important reform efforts included in the final conference agreement is a Senate provision that would create cross-functional teams.…”