Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of amendment No. 26 to provide cost-effective funding for the Navy's fourth Gerald R. Ford- class aircraft carrier, CVN-81. Let me be clear. Amendment No. 26 does not add any additional funding to the carrier replacement program line for fiscal year 2019. None. Not one dollar. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found amendment No. 26 would not score; it would not change the overall level of budget authority or outlays in the bill in fiscal year 2019. According to the Parliamentarian, this is simply a perfecting amendment to allow for already appropriated funds to be used for both CVN-80 and CVN-81. I believe it is possible to be both a defense hawk and a fiscal hawk. My amendment supports both positions. For defense hawks, amendment No. 26 fulfills a critical need for our U.S. Navy. The Navy's most recent force structure assessment identified a need to maintain 12 aircraft carriers to meet combatant commanders' needs and address a growing demand for U.S. presence around the world. However, under the current shipbuilding and ship retirement plans, the Navy would dip below 12 aircraft carriers beginning in 2025 and would atrophy to just 9 aircraft carriers by 2048. This is simply unacceptable. By procuring an additional aircraft carrier now, we better position the Navy to meet future requirements. By supporting a strong aircraft carrier base, we also show a commitment to the aircraft that operate from the carrier.…”