Conference Report on H.R. 1540, National Defense Authorization Act For Fiscal Year 2012

Floor Speech

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Mr. WITTMAN. I want to thank our conferees and the members of the Armed Services Committee once again, and I want to thank our staff directors, Bob Simmons and Paul Arcangeli.

This conference report addresses a wide array of policy issues, from cooperation with nations like Israel and Georgia, operations in Afghanistan, our new partnership with Iraq, and balancing strategic opportunities and risks with respect to China and Pakistan, to mitigating the threat from Iran and North Korea, enhancing missile defense, and maintaining this Nation's nuclear deterrent. Passage ensures our troops get a 1.6 percent pay raise and the benefits their families rely upon.

This bill also ensures that we continue to fulfill our Nation's most sacred obligations to our brave men and women serving in the greatest all-volunteer force in history. The service by our men and women in uniform is priceless, especially during the last 10 years of combat operations. Besides thanking them for their service and

sacrifice to this Nation in ensuring they are afforded the best benefits and care for their service, there's little we can do to repay them for standing the watch and keeping America safe.

This bill authorizes a modest 1.6 percent pay increase, but it never can express how truly grateful we are as a Nation for the service and sacrifice of our all-volunteer force and their families.

Additionally, some very important provisions were included to ensure our industrial base maintains a constant workload and a fully employed workforce; and $14.9 billion was authorized for U.S. Navy shipbuilding, a total of 10 ships, which include two Virginia class submarines. The bill also extends the multiyear funding authority for the second and third Ford-class aircraft carriers for 4 to 5 years of incremental funding authority.

American ingenuity, creativity, and initiative are alive and well in our shipyards that build warships for the United States Navy. Shipbuilding is supported through business and industry spanning 50 States and designed and engineered by our greatest asset--the American people. The American aircraft carrier is the pinnacle of this industrial engineering ingenuity and genius where mechanical, nuclear aerospace, and electrical engineering converge with naval architecture to form a magnificent 100,000-ton, 1,092-foot-long piece of American sovereignty that travels anywhere, anytime around the world.

Additionally, the bill reinstates the requirement for annual delivery of the Navy's 30-year shipbuilding plan solidifying the need for the Navy to communicate their plan as it relates to the strategic objectives of the United States balanced against a very challenging budget environment.

I'm pleased that this legislation came together to support our men and women in uniform. In times of austerity, they remain a priority, as do the safety and security of this Nation.

Today, I stand in support of this legislation and encourage my colleagues to support its passage; and I would like to reflect that all 26 Senate conferees signed this report, and 29 out of the 32 core House conferees signed as well. This is a solid product, thoroughly debated and deliberated considerably. I urge my colleagues to support and vote in favor of the conference report.

Mr. Speaker, with that, I yield back the balance of my time.

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