Conference Report On H.R. 2647, National Defense Authorization Act For Fiscal Year 2010

Floor Speech

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Mr. TAYLOR. Let me begin by thanking our chairman and ranking member for the phenomenal job they've done.

Let me begin by telling the gentleman from Virginia that I agree with much of what he said. I would also remind the gentleman from Virginia that, like him, I voted to send those young men and women to Iraq and Afghanistan. With that vote came my commitment to equip them, to pay them, to take care of their families should something bad happen to them, to provide them with the very best equipment.

The one thing that every American can agree on is we have the world's best Army. We have the world's best Navy. We have the world's best Marine Corps. We have the world's best Air Force. This bill keeps it that way.

I regret that the other body, by a vote of 87-7, put some language in there that should never be in this bill. But the bottom line is, come November, sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I'm going to be visiting at least 7,000 Mississippians, to the best of my ability trying to see every one of them that I voted to send there. And when I look them in the eye, I want them to know that I voted in support of them over the reservations of one small part of this bill.

The bill does a lot of good things for our Navy. It pays for seven new ships: a DDG-51 class destroyer, the best Destroyer in the world, one that we're going to build for at least another decade; two Littoral Combat Ships; two T-AKE dry cargo ships; a Joint High Speed Vessel; and a Virginia class submarine.

It includes language to see to it that our next generation of carrier, with the all-important electromagnetic launch system, will have the proper oversight so that it is delivered on time and on budget. It includes language to see that the Littoral Combat system that, to date, has been poorly handled will be done better in the future with a 10-ship buy, followed by a 5-ship buy, at the best price for whoever is willing to make that ship.

It funds the F-18E/F program, the world's best fighter, except for the F-22, and, quite frankly, a lot more affordable fighter than the F-22.

Lastly, it includes $6 billion for the most important weapon in our inventory at the moment, and that is the next generation of mine resistant vehicles. Look at the casualty list from Afghanistan. Almost every casualty is a result of an improvised explosive device on a vehicle that is not mine resistant.

The magnificent vehicles that we have built that work so well in Iraq and have saved so many lives in Iraq were, unfortunately, too big and too bulky for the terrain in Afghanistan. That's why we have to come up with a second-generation vehicle. This bill funds 5,000 of those vehicles that when they are delivered, from day one, will start saving lives and bring our friends and our family members back home with their limbs.

So, Mr. Speaker, again, like many of you, I have very, very, very deep concerns and, in fact, anger over some language that was included in this bill. But that is not enough to keep me from voting for funding the troops that serve our Nation so well, giving them the equipment they deserve.

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