William M. ``Mac'' Thornberry: “I support this amendment. I have supported it in the past. And as Mr. Emmer just mentioned, the House has supported it…”

“I support this amendment. I have supported it in the past. And as Mr. Emmer just mentioned, the House has supported it in the past in each of the last 2 years. I admire the persistence of the gentleman from Massachusetts in pursuing this issue. I think it is the right thing to do. Unfortunately, we have not yet been able to convince our colleagues across the Capitol or the Pentagon to do this. I know of no opposition to the amendment. I think the House should continue to support it, and I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Chairman, I thank Mr. Emmer for his support, and I want to thank Chairman Thornberry and Ranking Member Smith for their support in the past. As the chairman of the Armed Services Committee has stated, the House has, by voice vote, approved this twice before in the NDAA bills. Unfortunately, the Senate has chosen to not respect the wishes of the House, so I think it is important that we show a strong bipartisan vote on this. So I will ask for a recorded vote because I think it is important to send a signal to the Senate that we are serious about this and we are serious about honoring our Atomic Veterans. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.”