Norm Dicks

Mr. DICKS

Mr. DICKS. Nine billion below the President's request.

Mr. DICKS. Last year we were $17 billion below last year, $9 billion this year. So we're making some serious cuts in this budget.

Mr. DICKS. Madam Chair, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Mr. DICKS. The amendment would prohibit DOD from developing or manufacturing a newly designed flight suit for members of the Armed Forces. In November of 2010, the Air Force awarded a $99.4 million contract over 7 years to research, develop, and manufacture the flight suit. The November award ended a nearly 3-year competitive bidding process. The Air Force requires that the new flight suit must protect airmen from flames, all kinds of weather, chemical attacks or radiation, and high gravity that can cause air members to black out. So I urge rejection of the amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DICKS. I rise in opposition to any amendment that seeks to delay the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Some in the majority continue to try to legislate this issue even though the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell was approved with overwhelming bipartisan support in December. As of last month, more than 1 million U.S. servicemembers--roughly half of our Armed Forces--have been trained on the new law allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military. Our military leaders, lead by Admiral Mullen, have stated that they have seen no adverse impact on the force and that training is going very well. The current expectation is that all members of the active and reserve military force will be trained by mid-August. Last month, Secretary Gates indicated in an interview with the Associated Press that he sees no roadblocks to ending the ban on openly gay military service. Current Secretary Panetta said that he would work closely with the Joint Chiefs of Staff to assess whether the elements for certification in the law are met before approving the repeal. Our servicemembers deserve the right to serve their country no matter their race, gender, or sexual orientation. Currently, gay and lesbian servicemembers are forced to live under the constant threat of being forced out of the military because of the misguided Don't Ask, Don't Tell. I urge my colleagues to reject any amendment that seeks to delay implementation. Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DICKS. Madam Chair, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. DICKS. I rise for the purpose of engaging in a colloquy with the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young), our distinguished chairman. I think we agree that it is vitally important to save money in the Joint Strike Fighter Program where it is possible to do so without negatively impacting performance or schedule. The Joint Program Office and the services which will use the Joint Strike Fighter are to be commended for any efforts to identify potential reductions in program costs. As an example, the Air Force is currently in the process of validating an earlier internal study of ejection seat options for its variant of the aircraft. Would the chairman agree that if studies like this one make a sound business case that savings will result, then the Air Force's judgment about how its aircraft can be made more cost effectively equipped should be informed by that conclusion? I yield to the gentleman.

Mr. DICKS. I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Mr. DICKS. I am going to read this amendment: ``None of the funds made available by this act may be used to enter into a contract that allows the contractor to use amounts paid to the contractor under such contract to pay a tax to the Afghan Ministry of Finance.'' I want to congratulate the gentlewoman from Washington State for being able to work so tirelessly to get this amendment perfected. It's very clear what her intent is, and we are prepared on our side to accept this amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DICKS

Mr. DICKS. Will the gentlelady yield?

Mr. DICKS. I appreciate the sincerity and the gentlelady's commitment to these programs. I have been a supporter of these programs over the years. Triple-negative breast cancer is a very, very aggressive and difficult type of cancer. As the Department goes through its work, peer-reviewed research, we will bring this up next year in our hearings and ask them what they're doing about this.

Mr. DICKS. That is what I am trying to get to. I think the idea that they can submit their budget but not be able to tell us how many contractors there are, how many contract employees there are, is just ridiculous.

Mr. DICKS. Yes, I yield.

Mr. DICKS. I agree with the gentleman. If we can get a better deal, let's try to get a better deal. If we can do it less expensively, we can do it less expensively. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DICKS. I rise in opposition to the gentleman's amendment.

Mr. DICKS. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Mr. DICKS. I rise in support of the gentleman's amendment. This amendment would realign 10 million from defense-wide accounts to support additional work within the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program. The program was established in 1990 and is jointly planned and executed by the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other Federal agencies and industry. The program improves DOD mission readiness and environmental performance by providing new scientific knowledge and cost-effective technologies in the areas of environmental restoration, munitions response, resource conservation, and weapons systems and platforms. SERDP enhances military operations, improves military systems' effectiveness, enhances military training and readiness, sustains DOD's training and test ranges and installation infrastructure, and helps ensure the safety and welfare of military personnel and their dependents by eliminating or reducing the generation of pollution and use of hazardous materials and reducing the cost of remedial actions. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DICKS. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Mr. DICKS. I rise in very strong opposition to the gentleman's amendment. The decrease appears to be directed at funding provided in operation and maintenance defense-wide for the Office of the Secretary of Defense. The operation and maintenance defense-wide account received a thorough review during the committee process and has already been reduced by $258 million from the budget request. The Office of the Secretary of Defense account has similarly been reduced by $36.4 million based on a detailed review of specific programs within this account. Adjustments have been made to duplicative efforts and to programs that were poorly justified. Further reductions risk harm to operations in the defense-wide account such as special operations activities; education programs like the National Defense University and the Defense Acquisition University; and organizations that perform basic operational functions like finance and human resources. I urge all my colleagues to vote against this amendment.

Mr. DICKS. I yield to the gentleman from Georgia.

Mr. DICKS. Unfortunately, that is not the way the gentleman wrote his amendment; so I would stand with my provision which says further reductions risk harm to operations in the defense-wide account. So if you take 10 percent out of the account, it is going to affect Special Operations activities; education programs like the National Defense University, Defense Acquisition University--and Lord knows, we need help in acquisition; and organizations that perform basic operational functions like finance and human resources. I stand by my statement. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DICKS. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Mr. DICKS. Regrettably, I have to oppose this amendment. My good friend from Oregon, Mr. Blumenauer, is one of our most thoughtful Members and has been a leader on environmental issues. But in this case, we have already doubled the funding for this. I think this is unnecessary at this time. We have to constrain spending. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DICKS. I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Mr. DICKS

Mr. DICKS. I rise in opposition to the gentleman's amendment.