Political Quotes

“The first is on the issue of end strength. Senator Reed has argued that the Regular Army--the active duty force--needs to be larger, and I would agree with him. In the Ronald Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2005, signed by the President on October 28, Congress required that the Army increase its active-duty strength by 20,000 soldiers over fiscal year 2004 levels. The conference report, while noting that in a time of national emergency the President may direct even higher levels, specifically authorized an increase of 30,000 soldiers between 2005 and 2009. These increased numbers reflect the recommendations of General Peter Schoomaker, the Chief of Staff of the Army, who is a great soldier. He has proven to be a superb Chief of Staff of the Army. In the committee hearing on General Schoomaker's nomination last year, I recall very well the questions asked of him as to whether he thought that the Army needed to have more soldiers. General Schoomaker responded candidly that his intuition told him that he thought the Army needed to be larger. He was right.”