Dan Crenshaw: “Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, for yielding the time, and thank you for the work that you have done, along with Mr.…”

“Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, for yielding the time, and thank you for the work that you have done, along with Mr. Visclosky, to present what I consider to be a very strong bill. Mr. Chairman, when you look at the world today, it certainly hasn't gotten any smaller, and it certainly hasn't gotten any safer, but I think this bill balances the priorities that we need to balance and focuses on being able to meet the many, many challenges that we face in terms of our national security. I consider it an honor to serve on this subcommittee because, when I read the Constitution, it teaches me that the number one responsibility of the Federal Government is to protect American lives. The best way to keep America safe is to keep America strong, and I think this bill does that. We make sure that we are not making any short-term, budget-driven decisions that would be easy to make in these difficult economic times. The Navy decided that it would like to deactivate 11 ships. That is one half of our cruiser fleet. We don't need fewer ships--we need more ships--and I am proud that the subcommittee has worked out a compromise by which these ships will be modernized and their lives will be extended, and they will continue to do the work that they need to do around the globe. The people I represent back in Jacksonville, Florida, care greatly about national security.…”