Floyd Spence: “I support our bill, the Committee on Armed Services bill, the provisions that deal with Vieques. This amendment seeks to…”

“I support our bill, the Committee on Armed Services bill, the provisions that deal with Vieques. This amendment seeks to replace them with the administration's flawed approach, as established by the agreement between the President and the Governor of Puerto Rico on January 31, 2000. Since the Navy ceased training on Vieques in April of 1999, East Coast-based Naval forces have experienced a decline in combat readiness. The ranges on Vieques island are the only place where our forces can conduct joint combined live fire training in conjunction with the actual amphibious landings by our troops ashore. When I was on active duty with the Navy, I remember back in those days being involved in training in Vieques myself. I know how valuable it is. Vieques is, in the words of Vice Admiral William Fallon, the Commander of the Second Fleet, 'an irreplaceable national asset.' And it is a national asset. People do not realize we own that island. We bought it. It belongs to the United States Government.”