Political Quotes

“I think the Senator is asking that he be recognized at the conclusion of the introduction of this amendment. Senator Nelson and I will be brief to accommodate our colleagues. Mr. President, this amendment ensures that all necessary repair and maintenance be accomplished on the USS John F. Kennedy to keep that ship in active status. The amendment also requires the Navy to keep 12 aircraft carriers until the later of several situations comes to the attention of the Senate and the Congress: 180 days after the next Quadrennial Defense Review is delivered to Congress, or the Secretary of Defense has certified to Congress the necessary agreements have been entered into to provide the port facilities for the permanent forward deployed aircraft carriers deemed necessary to carry out the mission in their area of responsibility. The ship, the USS Kennedy, was scheduled to start overhaul this coming summer. There was $334.7 million authorized and appropriated in the fiscal year 2005 for that purpose. So none of the funds in the underlying bill in any way are garnered by this amendment. In the last-minute budget cut in late December, the decision was made by the Department of Defense to defer maintenance and to decommission the Kennedy. The Chief of Naval Operations testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on February 10 of this year that all 12 aircraft carriers were in his original budget request.…”