On the recordMarch 25, 2015
I want to thank the chairman of the Budget Committee not only for yielding, but for all of his work in putting this budget together. Mr. Chairman, I spent some time on the Budget Committee. Putting a budget together is never easy. And I believe that the committee has done excellent work in putting together a budget that, as the whip just described, helps increase economic opportunity for the whole country. I particularly appreciate the chairman as he has had to navigate through a variety of interests and a variety of concerns in putting that budget together. I know firsthand that Chairman Price and other members of the committee are very concerned about national security. And so I want to take a moment to explain why I believe the amendment we are considering now, Price 2, is better than Price 1 when it comes to national security. I think Members deserve that explanation. The amount of funding that the President has asked for our military this year ends up being $612 billion when you add the base and the overseas contingency account or the global war on terrorism account, whichever you want to call it. When you add them together, it is $612 billion. All of our military leaders have testified that that is the lower ragged edge of what it takes to defend the country, and my opinion is that it would be rather reckless of us to ignore those warnings and do less.…
