Political Quotes

“First, I want to thank Chairman Young, Ranking Member Dicks, and their staffs for coordinating with my office on this amendment and for their work to address operational energy challenges faced by DOD. According to the Department of Defense, operational energy represented 74 percent of the military's energy costs in 2010; and despite a 9 percent reduction in energy use, costs increased by 19.7 percent. Air conditioning alone for American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan cost $20 million each year. Last year's bill to heat, cool, and light 539,000 DOD buildings represented at least $4 billion in direct costs to taxpayers. More than 3,000 American warfighters and contractors have been killed in the line of duty while moving or defending fuel convoys. We cannot continue sacrificing American lives as a result of failing to improve energy use by our military. Included in the bill is a targeted investment of $82 million for Marine Corps expeditionary energy equipment to prevent our marines from carrying more than 13 million pounds of gear and will help taxpayers avoid nearly $40 billion in annual energy-related costs. Thank you, Chairman Young and Ranking Member Dicks, for including this funding in the bill.…”