Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I rise in strong support of the House amendment to H.R. 3304, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014. This legislation represents the best path forward for the work that we must do in order to support our men and women in uniform and our national security, and I applaud Chairman McKeon and Ranking Member Smith for their efforts to ensure that it is enacted. I am pleased that the bill continues the strong support of the Virginia-class submarine, Ohio Replacement Program, and the Virginia Payload Module, all of which are critical to our future capabilities. I am also pleased that this measure improves on several key aspects of the House-passed defense authorization, including a number of initiatives designed to confront sexual assault in our military, policies making progress towards the administration's goal of closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, and improved provisions relating to the nuclear weapons enterprise and missile defense. I have been proud to work closely in particular with Chairman Mac Thornberry on the numerous provisions under the jurisdiction of the Subcommittee on Intelligence Emerging Threats and Capabilities, where I am proud to serve as ranking member. We have prioritized resources for our Special Operations Forces and our cybersecurity efforts, as well as investments in advanced technology and research and development.…”