Political Quotes

“I thank Mr. Rogers for yielding. Yesterday, we remembered the 81st anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The United States was surprised by the audacious Japanese attack and our national security was placed in peril. Times have changed, though, and Japan is now a bedrock ally of the United States today. I can't help but wonder if we learned the hard-earned lessons of Pearl Harbor or whether we are drifting into strategic malaise and will be caught unprepared by another attack on our national security. Frankly, we are not ready. With a Navy fleet that continues to tread water in overall force structure and an Air Force that continues to cede combat firepower, I am not confident of our trajectory. That is why I am pleased to have rejected a multitude of reckless national security objectives proposed by the Biden administration. This bill authorizes a 20 percent increase in ship construction, partially rejects an ill-advised divest-to-invest strategy and blocks a multitude of poison pills that were haphazardly tacked on to this legislation. While this is a good bill worthy of support, I look forward to the next Congress where we can assert with greater certainty a revised trajectory for our national security. We need to better assure our partners and allies and avoid our pre-World War II hubris by decisively deterring future aggressors. We have much work to do. I thank Ranking Member Rogers and his leadership during the top-line debate this year.…”