Political Quotes

“The bill also requires operationally realistic testing of missile defense systems. It makes deployment of missile defenses in Europe contingent on such testing, as well as host nation ratification of any deployments on European soil. I am proud of our smart spending decisions to strengthen our defenses against current missile threats. We are embracing good government practices and emphasizing thorough testing that reduces the costs to American taxpayers in the long run. Finally, this authorization builds on the bipartisan approach of previous years to military space programs, providing $9.7 billion to sustain and improve these critical assets that are essential to our warfighters. I want to thank Chairman Skelton for his leadership one again in crafting such a strong measure, and I urge my colleagues to support it.”