Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I first want to thank the chairman and ranking member, particularly Chairman Wilson and the members of the Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee, for their hard work and contributions to the legislation before us today. The NDAA moves us forward on so many important issues, from cyberspace, to research and development, to the integration of advanced technologies, such as directed energy, to the challenges of special operations, counterterrorism, and unconventional warfare. The NDAA also invests properly in crucial capabilities, such as the Ohio Replacement Program, the peerless Virginia-class submarines that are built starting in my district in Rhode Island, the Virginia Payload Module, the cutting-edge autonomous and unmanned systems. I am particularly pleased that the budget approach reflected in this bill is the result of the considered compromise that was reached last week. That framework paves a fiscal path that invests in all departments and all elements of national power, not just defense. That agreement and the NDAA before us this morning echoes that very point. It demonstrates that, when we work across the aisle, we can accomplish the hard work of legislating that the American people elected us to do. I do believe that the bill gets it wrong, though, in a few areas, most notably, on the provisions related to Guantanamo. However, no bill is perfect.…”