Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. KELLY of Pennsylvania. I thank the chairman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support. This is one of the things that I think really makes us a little bit different. It is about certainty. And where I am from, there is an old saying: If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there. Well, people who run businesses actually have to know where they are going before they start. So this does bring some honesty to what it is that we need to do.

But in a time when people talk about ``I'' and ``me''--and that is what I hear most of the time--I want to talk about all the other people: the ``we's'' that got together. This is truly a joint effort between a lot of staff members. It is not just Members of Congress, but staff members.

So, if I could just for a second thank the committee's tax team: George Callas, Mark Warren, Harold Hancock, John Sandell, Aharon Friedman, and Jennifer Acuna. They have put in unbelievable amounts of time on this to get this done not for the Republican Party, but for the American people. How refreshing it is at this time of the year to actually give back and do something for others--and do it in a way that just makes common sense to everybody out there who has to know where it is that they are going.

There is something about certainty that gives us the confidence to go forward and that gives us that assuredness that we can actually get there. This is an incredible opportunity. This is really historic.

So I want to thank Members on both sides. I think the American people will sit back and say: This is the place where these guys and girls can't get together on anything. I would just say that is not true. This is truly bipartisan. It has taken an awful lot of work by an awful lot of people. So I want to take time to thank them for what they did. They are incredible people and great patriots.

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