Political Quotes

“I too rise today in strong support of this bill. I believe the committee has done a superb job in fulfilling its role and has done its best to provide the necessary funding and direction to support the readiness of our military forces. Is this enough to fix all of the readiness problems? Unfortunately, no. Is it in the right direction? Absolutely. For too many years now, the readiness for our military forces has been marred by an ever increasing number of contingency operations without any additional funding to accompany those operations. This pattern has led to the decline of our military readiness which we are all now too familiar with. At hearings in Washington and in the field, the committee repeatedly heard concerns and pleas for help to address readiness and quality of life problems in our military forces. As in previous years, these concerns focused on lack of spare parts, backlog of maintenance and repair of aging equipment and facilities, and a force that continues to do more with less. The committee also heard disturbing testimony on the shortfalls and problems at the services major combat training centers. These concerns are not new to us. Stories of back-to-back deployment, cannibalizing combat equipment for spare parts and personnel shortages are not new to me or to anyone else on my subcommittee. I am happy to report this year that such stories are finally reaching and affecting the administration.”