Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009

DUNCAN HUNTER NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2009 -- (House of Representatives - September 24, 2008)

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Mr. SMITH of Washington. First of all, I want to congratulate and thank Chairman Skelton and Ranking Member Hunter. Their dedication to making sure that we get a defense authorization bill done every year is truly admirable and an amazing accomplishment. They understand the importance of making sure that our committee sets the policy and the direction for national security and military policy in this country, and they are determined to get it done.

The challenges were great this year, and yet they still got us a bill done on time and a bill that will really, really help the men and women who are fighting for us in our Armed Services and help protect our country. And that is a tribute to their leadership.

I also want to thank Ranking Member Thornberry on our subcommittee for his great work. Our subcommittee, as he mentioned, is focused on specifically the war against al Qaeda and violent extremists, with jurisdiction over SOCOM and to handle unconventional threats.

I am proud that this bill fully funds SOCOM and their efforts to protect us from terrorism across the globe. This bill also emphasizes science and technology and our need to develop the best, most advanced weapons to protect our military troops everywhere that they are fighting.

I think this is an excellent bill, one that was not easy to accomplish, and I'm very proud of what our subcommittee has accomplished as well.

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