Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my direct concern over the United States Department of Defense's lack of agility when it comes to warfare. Recently, my office hosted our annual defense roundtable with defense companies both in and out of my district. The theme of this year's defense roundtable was how to increase the readiness, engagement, agility, and delivery of lethality to the Department of Defense. It was quite telling that these companies reaffirmed the troubling RAND Defense report, which explained that the U.S. defense industrial base is not prepared to engage in all-out warfare. The modern-day axis of evil, China, Russia, and Iran, continue to work around the clock to advance their military capabilities and cause further chaos in the world, while the U.S. is woefully lagging behind. China continues to take steps that threaten the democracy of Taiwan, Russia continues its offensive in Ukraine, and Iran has sent hundreds of missiles toward Israel through its use of proxies throughout the region. Make no mistake: if America does not take monumental steps to reform, modernize, and expand our defense capabilities and in a rapid manner, then we will be in a difficult position of choosing which allies we can help around the world. During our defense roundtable discussions, it was made clear that, as the U.S. military stands today, we are not ready. We must immediately take significant steps to become ready. World circumstances demand that we do.…”