Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2020

Floor Speech

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Mr. KIM. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chair, as the vice chairman of the Readiness Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee, improving road safety at and around our military facilities is an important part of maintaining and enhancing military readiness.

Simply put, if our servicemen and -women can't safely drive, they can't safely train, and that puts our military at a distinct disadvantage.

We have dozens of military facilities across our country, but I want to give you one example of how prioritizing road safety will improve our readiness.

My district, made up of Burlington and Ocean Counties in New Jersey, is home to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. The joint base is a key military training facility, but the lack of proper investment in road safety projects has impeded our military's ability to train.

By building a simple overpass over Route 539, the Army Reserve would have access to more than hundreds of additional training acres. Because one-third of Army reservists live within a short drive of under 4 hours from the joint base, additional training would save us money and give them more time with their families.

Furthermore, this would allow the Army Reserve to conduct much-needed training exercises with night vision equipment used in war zones, training exercises that they simply cannot execute because the roads aren't safe enough.

This is one example, but it is not the only one.

This is a chance for us to stand with our servicemen and -women, a chance for us to stand for readiness, and a chance for us to stand for safety.

Mr. Chair, I urge support for the men and women across our country who serve and the adoption of this commonsense amendment.

Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz).

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

The maintenance of our roads in and around our military installations is a must for the safety of our servicemembers and their families. It is also key for the training and readiness of our troops.

I look forward to working with the gentleman in future budget submissions to make sure that we can address this important issue and protect the safety of our troops.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support the amendment.

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Mr. KIM. Mr. Chair, I thank the gentlewoman from Florida for her words of support here.

This is something that I find all of us are committed to, in terms of ensuring that our armed services men and women have everything that they need to be able to do their jobs and be able to have the success of their missions.

Mr. Chair, I thank the gentlewoman from Florida for her support, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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