Political Quotes

“I would like to thank my colleague, Mr. Byrne, for his tremendous work on this issue on the Rules Committee as well as on the Armed Services Committee. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this rule and the bipartisan work of the House Armed Services Committee that has gone into crafting the underlying bill. This year's NDAA authorizes programs that are absolutely crucial, Mr. Speaker, to the defense of this Nation. The bill authorizes funding at levels that will begin to restore our readiness, replacing aging equipment and weapons, and developing the next generation of military technology. Mr. Speaker, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle would clearly like to divert attention from these issues. They would like to try to discuss everything under the sun, it seems, except funding for our men and women in uniform who are on the front lines defending the freedom that allows us to have the debate that we are having today in this very Chamber. The bottom line, Mr. Speaker, is that, without the funding authorized in this bill, our adversaries will continue to close capability gaps and further erode our military superiority. Mr. Speaker, while passage of this rule and the underlying NDAA are vital, our work will not be done. We must appropriate the funds authorized here, and we must finally, Mr. Speaker, repeal the Budget Control Act.…”