Political Quotes

“I want to thank the ranking member for yielding. And, Mr. Chair, I would like to begin by thanking Chairman Thornberry, Ranking Member Smith, and Chairwoman Stefanik for their collective efforts in crafting this bill that is before us this evening. I would also like to thank the staff who worked tirelessly on this productive and forward-thinking legislation. It is an honor and a privilege to serve as a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee on behalf of the selfless servicemen and women who protect our Nation every day, and I am proud of the very strong bipartisan effort represented by this year's NDAA. Mr. Chair, we accomplish a number of important objectives in this bill. First of all, we enhance our deterrence capabilities in Europe and support our Nation's submarine force. I am very proud of the Virginia class submarines that we build starting right in my district, and we also provide strong support for the Columbia class program that will be the Ohio replacement program. We also make it clear that climate security is, indeed, national security, backing the Department in its efforts to build resilience, reduce risk, and prepare for all types of threats that may come our way, even if those threats come from climate change. But as ranking member of the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, I am particularly proud of the provisions we have included on cybersecurity, special operations, and research and development.…”