Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, I rise to express my concern with certain aspects of the Calvert amendment that is included in part of the en bloc amendments to the Fiscal Year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act that we will pass by voice vote. My colleague from California has every right to attempt to catalogue the quantity of civilian and contractors within the Department of Defense. But I must object to his characterization of our civilian defense employees' roles. I am lucky enough to represent nearly 80,000 federal employees, many of whom work at the Pentagon, Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Fort Belvoir, or one of the myriad Department of Defense installations around Northern Virginia. This includes ground breaking work at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, important work to keep us safe at Defense Threat Reduction Agency, and the jobs supplying our military with the tools it needs at the Defense Logistics Agency. Our nation, its people, and its defenses would not by possible without the dedicated work of these individuals. Mr. Calvert's effort to categorize these civilian defense employees as disproportionate or duplicative undermines the incredible work they do every day to keep our military running. The ability to produce combat power, modernize, and keep our troops healthy and safe are critical functions at the Department of Defense. Moreover, they are critical functions performed by highly intelligent, accomplished, and dedicated civilian employees.…”