Political Quotes

“I rise with a very simple amendment. It would do nothing more than call for a GAO report of the maritime security fleet. I do so because I think that we would all acknowledge that knowledge is power, and the ability to look very closely at what is happening within that fleet, I think, is important. I would also say that, as a believer that defense is a core function of the Federal Government, we would want to have transparency in the way that we expend those funds in pursuit of our Nation's defense. I think that this is important in light of the fact that overall funding has risen by about $89 million here over the last, I guess, funding cycle. You have seen the per-ship stipend go from $3.5 million to $5 million. There has not been a study of what is happening within that fleet of ships for more than 12 years, and so, again, this is not in any way prescriptive in nature as to what should or shouldn't happen or the merits or demerits of the program. It is simply saying might we not learn a little bit more of what is happening within that fleet, and that is it. I reserve the balance of my time. {time} 1800”