Political Quotes

“I rise to speak about a bill I recently introduced: S. 3941, the Combating Military Counterfeits Act of 2010. This bill will help protect America's Armed Forces from the risk of defective equipment by enhancing the ability of prosecutors to keep counterfeit goods out of the military supply chain. The safety of our servicemembers and the success of their missions depend upon the proper performance of weapon systems, body armor, aircraft parts, and countless other mission-critical products. Unfortunately, America's military faces a significant and growing threat: the infiltration of the military supply chain by counterfeit products. These counterfeit products do not meet military standards, putting troops' lives at risk, compromising military readiness, and costing taxpayers millions in replacement costs. In the case of microelectronics, counterfeit parts also provide an avenue for cybersecurity threats to enter military systems, possibly enabling hackers to disable or track crucial national security applications. Let me give you a few examples from a recent report by the Government Accountability Office: The Defense Department discovered in testing that it had procured body armor that was misrepresented as being "Kevlar." Think about that: a criminal sold fake body armor to the military, putting our troops' lives at risk just to make a buck. The law must provide strong deterrence and harsh sanctions for such conduct.”