Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us today.

I stand today in strong support of S. 2943, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017. First, I would like to thank Chairman Thornberry and Ranking Member Smith for their leadership here, and also our Readiness…

I thank the chairman. Mr. Speaker, it truly is an honor and a privilege to reflect on the careers of three dear friends as the gentleman spoke so eloquently about Congressman Randy Forbes, Congressman Scott Rigell, and Congressman Robert…

On rollcall No. 484, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

I just think it is important for members to understand this point.

To me, that is a very, very deeply concerning issue.

We would remain at platoon-level readiness funding under the CR, as well as putting further constraints on our modernization programs.

Again, I would say that, based on the direction from the CNO and his directives of how the Navy is looking to reorganize itself to make sure that it has the ability to maintain maritime superiority--this came out just 5 months ago--to me…

I would say to the gentleman that, when the Navy asks for the ability to reduce its organizational structure to make itself more efficient to do the things that it needs to do to indeed fulfill the role in the Asia Pacific, maybe we ought…

As the designee of the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Forbes), I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: Strike section 8055. The Acting CHAIR…

we are not currently providing our Navy with the resources it needs to do what we ask

How does that affect the Fleet Replacement Squadron where you go to get aircraft and the flying hours that have to be accrued there to make sure our pilots have the sea time...

We all take that challenge seriously and I know, I know and am confident that we will face that challenge.

Every service branch we know today is suffering from readiness deficits

the resources we have been allocating to that critical function of government have been woefully inadequate

If Congress is to address the obstacles that successive cuts in defense spending have posed, we need a clear, unadulterated view of the challenges our forces are facing.

Recently, the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus held its annual Member Shoot-Out at Prince George's County Trap and Skeet Center. This is a friendly competition between Republicans and Democrats where we get out there and we shoot trap…

I want to reiterate the importance of making sure that we are funding defense at the President's request. The FY 2017 request, I think, is minimally adequate, but it is not just me. The administration's own Secretary of the Army Murphy…

I would like to thank Chairman Thornberry, Ranking Member Smith, and the ranking member on the Readiness Subcommittee, Madeleine Bordallo, for all of their efforts. Chairman Thornberry over the last few months has highlighted the…

On rollcall No. 183, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.'' Stated against:

Readiness as a term of art has traditionally represented training, operation, and maintenance.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

That is why I think it is incredibly important to have something like the National Sea-Based Deterrence Fund.

I think those are important points.

sequestration, in your words, is the 'greatest threat to our future readiness. It has a ripple effect for us through the years.'