Political Quotes

“last year I joined Senators McCain and Levin in introducing legislation authorizing another base closure round. I argued then, as I do today, that failing to enact another BRAC round only makes the Congress look short-sighted and indecisive. I argued then that if we don't bite the bullet quickly, the cost of excess infrastructure will continue to drag down the readiness of our forces today and rob us of the resources so badly needed to modernize our forces for tomorrow. For the first time since the late 1970's, military readiness is suffering significantly. Ships are undermanned, pilots are flying too many missions, reservists are being asked to leave family and job over and over. It doesn't take a budget expert to realize what we could do for the troops with billions in savings from cutting excess infrastructure. This year we in the Congress will almost certainly add billions of dollars to the defense budget. This is a mixed blessing. While these adds will help resolve problems across the board, from recruiting to modernization to preparing for the future, they will also undermine any incentives to better manage the Department of Defense and to eliminate the wasteful assets and administrative inefficiencies that we the Congress are so determined to preserve.”