Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2017

Floor Speech

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Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chairman, since I first was elected to Congress, one of the things that I talked most directly about was the fact that if there is one thing that is so important in the Federal Government to do, it is the duty to provide for national security. The legislation that we have before us now may be the most important document that we will take up this entire year.

My colleague on the Republican side, Mr. Frelinghuysen, and my colleague on the Democratic side, Mr. Visclosky, both take their job very seriously. As they work on this bill, they work with great dedication and care, and it is a privilege to work with both of them, along with the committee staff, as they work forward to move this bill.

Our men and women in uniform carry out a broad spectrum of missions. Some missions are directly combat related. Some are related to rescue. And some are humanitarian missions. Health research to help our soldiers also benefits civilians of all ages and all backgrounds. This bill specifies both the base funding and also overseas contingency operations funding in a way that meets the needs to carry out all of those missions.

So I would encourage my colleagues, as we vote on this bill and as we move forward on this, to vote ``yes'' on it. We owe it to our men and women in uniform and our dedicated civil servant workforce to provide that stability and continuity and also to continue making sure that we stay the greatest and the strongest nation on the Earth.

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