Yesterday, the House passed important legislation: the Defense appropriations bill. This bill prohibits furloughs on employees serving our Department of Defense in fiscal year 2014. These employees are now in their third week of furloughs…

VADM Hunt, what is the estimated procurement cost and life cycle maintenance cost of one mine warfare mission module?

How has the Navy ensured compliance with Title 10 maintenance requirements for U.S. homeported ships while supporting LCS 1 forward deployed?

VADM Hunt, how critical is the ASW mission module to the LCS mission?

The Navy Reserve provides daily operational support and is a potent force multiplier that is leveraged on a daily basis to support Navy missions.

I would say to the gentleman that, in light of what we have today, with the uncertainty, with the sequester, with the reduction in funds where we are saving money by furloughing Federal employees, now is not the time to spend more money in…

I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: Page 157, after line 2, add the following new section: Sec. 10002. None of the funds made available by this…

Again, I want to emphasize, at this time in our Nation's defense budgeting, we ought to be looking at where we can save dollars, where we can apply dollars to those areas of greatest need. And I argue those areas of greatest need are for…

I want to start out. You noted that there would be a cost benefit analysis that would be done concerning the proposed regulation.

Is the cost benefit analysis also subjected to public comment in the rulemaking process?

I mean it is hard for me to believe that you are protecting the interests by redacting every single word there.

Can you give me an example, historically, where you have had a comment challenging a cost benefit analysis?

So what you are saying is that you go through the public comment process, but the public comment really doesn't make its way into the final rule.

If you made a request of Congress for information, and you got back a document like this with everything redacted, would that satisfy you?

In the public comment period the idea is to get comments from the public.

This week, our civilian defense employees are at their desks, working fervently, after staying home for their first furlough day last week. Now they're having to take a furlough day each week for the next 11 weeks. I have talked with folks…

Instead of combating terrorism or working to support our troops deployed around the globe, civilian workers across the country are, instead, spending 20 percent of their workweek on a forced furlough. Furloughed workers face personal and…

I appreciate your insights on how to best manage red snapper. It sounds like there is at least a majority of opinion that putting more power back in the hands of the States... is a more powerful way to do that.

More big government is probably not the best way to go about that. I am not sure that Washington knows all. In fact, I know that it doesn't know all.

I thank the gentleman for yielding. Just as he said, this is an effort just to modernize the list of eligible products under the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act. It is just about making sure that those folks in rural coastal areas have…

I thank the gentleman from New York for yielding. Mr. Chairman, I have the privilege every evening to travel back to the northern neck of Virginia. It's just an hour and a half from D.C., and that area is not served by broadband. We all…

I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: At the end of title XII, add the following new subtitle: Subtitle D--Chesapeake Bay Accountability and…

I reserve the balance of my time. The Acting CHAIR. Does any Member claim time in opposition to the amendment?

Ladies and gentlemen, our most important job here, our most sacred duty as outlined in article 1, section 8 of the Constitution is to ``raise and support Armies''--to support the men and women we ask to fight on behalf of our Nation on the…

Simply put, this amendment seriously jeopardizes national security and also our ability to project power and maintain a forward presence in an ever-growing dangerous world. The backbone of our Navy is our carrier strike force. In order to…