Floyd Spence: “the fiscal year 2001 defense authorization bill has been a bipartisan effort from start to finish. In May, the bill was…”

“the fiscal year 2001 defense authorization bill has been a bipartisan effort from start to finish. In May, the bill was reported out of the Committee on Armed Services on a vote of 56-1. Later in May, the bill passed the House on a vote of 353-63. Now, I am pleased to report that all Armed Services Committee conferees in both the House and the Senate have chosen to sign this conference report in the latest reflection of the broad bipartisan support for this legislation. This is not to mean that this has been an easy process. We faced having to reach agreement on over 800 legislative provisions, dealing with a broad range of topics, many having little or nothing to do with defense. However, with the strong cooperation of all Members on both sides of the aisle and a determination to once again complete our work prior to adjournment, we are able to present to the House a strong agreement that furthers the national security of this Nation. Mr. Speaker, this legislation represents 6 years in a row that Congress has increased the level of defense spending requested by the President. Consistent with the budget resolution, this bill authorizes $4.5 billion above the budget request in order to address urgent shortfalls in key readiness problems, modernization and personnel accounts.”