J. Forbes

Mr. FORBES

Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, today as I stand on this great floor, a place that we call the people's House, I look across and there is a plaque of Moses, the great law-giver. While he may not be staring me in the eye, he stares at every Speaker, who stands where you stand today, directly in the eye. Right above you, there is our national motto that is even above the flag of the United States that says, ``In God we trust.'' I come here this morning because in the State of Washington in Bremerton School District, they take a different interpretation of that motto. You see, they believe there that you can trust in God as long as you don't trust too much; that you can be grateful to that God as long as you are not too grateful. Last week, they put on administrative leave a young football coach, Coach Joe Kennedy, not because he molested a child, not because he wasn't a winning football coach, not even because he didn't have good service--because everyone agreed he had exemplary service for the last 8 years--but the reason was simply because he dared to offer a personal, private prayer at the conclusion of a football game thanking God for protecting his players and the players on the other football team. Now, the Bremerton School District is very noble because they say Coach Kennedy can exercise his faith even while on duty as long as no one else can see it. Mr. Speaker, as the Bremerton School District cites cases, they do like so many anti-faith groups do. They cite the cases, but it is just that those cases don't apply to the facts in this particular situation at all. This coach is not asking to pray with students at a mandatory pregame meeting. He is asking for his freedom to quietly and personally offer prayer and thanks for his team and the safety of his players after the game is over and the players are heading to greet their families and friends in the stands. As a Member of Congress, my faith is not some kind of coat that I take off when I walk into the Capitol Building to perform my legislative duties. And as a coach, Coach Kennedy's faith is not something he sheds when he walks onto the field. The Constitution doesn't require you to be sequestered to a private room out of sight and earshot to offer a prayer. It protects the right of an individual to visibly express his or her faith, just like it protects the right of a Muslim teacher to wear her head scarf or a Jewish teacher to wear his yarmulke. Mr. Speaker, that is why I rise today, because I hope all across this country Americans will stand with Coach Kennedy, as we do today, and, in so doing, send a message to the Bremerton School District in the State of Washington that when they trample on even one young football coach's religious liberties and religious freedom, they trample on the religious freedom and the religious liberty of all of us.

Mr. FORBES

Mr. FORBES. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to support H.R. 702 but, more importantly, to oppose this amendment. First of all, I would tell the gentleman, this amendment was considered and this provision was considered in the NDAA, and we actually did mark it up. The second thing is this is vital to the national security of this country to maintain the private sector sealift capacity. Our top military commanders have called MSP a vital element of our military strategic sealift and global response capability, and it is worth noting that 90 percent of all U.S. military cargo moved from Iraq and Afghanistan has been by American-flagged, American-crewed commercial vessels enrolled in the MSP program. If we were to adopt this amendment, it would basically cost us $13 billion to re-create this. The U.S. Transportation Command has estimated it would cost $52 billion. In other words, Mr. Chairman, it would take us between 42 years and 168 years to recoup our costs. Let's defeat this amendment and protect the Maritime Security Program.

Mr. FORBES

Mr. FORBES. I thank the chairman for his hard work on this bill and bringing it to the floor. Mr. Speaker, as we listen today, one of the things that you really won't hear outside of this room is anybody challenging the substance of this bill. In fact, the opponents of this bill time and time again say what a really good bill it is. You won't hear anyone challenging the partisanship of this bill because they will praise Chairman Thornberry for the bipartisan product he has brought to the floor. You won't hear them saying it is not the right amount of money in here, that it is too much or too little, because it is almost exactly the dollar amount that the President requested. And you won't hear them say that they took this money from another priority because they agree this is the amount of money that should be spent on national defense. The sole reason this bill is being opposed today and the sole reason the President is going to veto it is because he wants to use national defense as a bartering chip to get everything he wants for the IRS, the EPA, and all of the other political agendas that he has. Can you imagine, as Chairman Thornberry mentioned, how strong he looks around the globe when he says America is going to be strong, yet he vetoes the bill that authorizes the national defense of this country and gives him almost everything he wants. The President and the opponents of this bill also need to realize that, if they defeat this bill, they will also defeat the construction of three destroyers, two attack subs, three small surface combatants, an amphibious ship, and they will delay the Air Force bomber and tanker programs. Mr. Speaker, it is time we stop using national defense as some kind of political poker chip that can be gambled away. It is time we pass this bill.

Mr. FORBES

Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, due to the recent passing of a beloved family member, I was unable to cast my vote yesterday for an important piece of legislation. Had I been in the chamber, I would have voted yes on S. 1359, the E-Warranty Act of 2015.

Mr. FORBES

Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Alison Parker and Adam Ward, the young Virginia TV news reporter and cameraman who were tragically killed during a live broadcast on August 26th, 2015. In the face of such horrific evil, words fall short. But the lives of Alison and Adam will be remembered with great love. The thoughts and prayers of the nation remain with the families and loved ones of Alison and Adam, as well as the whole WDBJ news team and community of Franklin County, Virginia.

Mr. FORBES

Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor today's guest chaplain, Pastor Will Langford. Pastor Langford is the lead pastor of Great Bridge Baptist Church in Chesapeake, Virginia, where I am proud to say I have been a member for over 50 years. Pastor Langford has served for almost 30 years at churches in Ohio, Kentucky, and Virginia. He received his doctor of ministry and master of divinity at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is also an author, speaker, and host of a local Christian teaching radio program, ``Real Conviction.'' Pastor Langford has dedicated his life to serving his congregation and the community in Chesapeake. I am personally grateful not just for the wisdom he shares from the pulpit, but for his day-to-day example of the impact one can have on his or her community, State, and nation when they personify the teachings of Jesus Christ. Pastor Langford is joined today by his wife of nearly 30 years, Melissa; and they are the proud parents of two daughters, Brittany Nicole and Bethany Anne. Please, join me in welcoming Pastor Langford.

Mr. FORBES

Mr. FORBES. I thank the chairman for yielding. The gentleman from New York raised a good question. He said: I can think of no honest reason why these terrorists have not been prosecuted in a military tribunal. I can give him the answer to that. I don't know if my friend from New York has actually been to Guantanamo Bay, but in 2010, I went there. As the administration came into office, if the gentleman met with the prosecutor at that time, he had assembled a team that had worked for over 2 years trying and prosecuting the terrorists of the World Trade Center attack. That prosecutor had gone through a stack of hearings this tall that he had prevailed on. His life had been threatened. His team's life had been threatened. He told all of us, Democrats and Republicans who went down there, that he would have guilty pleas on all those terrorists within 6 months. To answer the gentleman as to why that didn't happen, it is because, when the administration came into office, they canceled that prosecution, took him off the case, disbanded that whole prosecution; and to this day, they have not allowed that prosecution to go forward. If you want to ask the real, honest question of why we haven't prosecuted them in the military tribunals--the gentleman from Virginia said the facilities are there, the will was there, the hearings were there. The reason is because this administration has refused to prosecute them. I hope we will defeat these amendments, keep those terrorists there, or let this administration prosecute them.

Mr. FORBES. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. FORBES. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, it is rare to find an amendment to an appropriation bill that has already been supported by 375 Members of this House; yet this amendment has, 90 percent of the House. It is rare to find an amendment to an appropriation bill that has such bipartisan support; yet this amendment has. This is an amendment not put in by just me, but by my good friend Mr. Courtney, by Mr. Wittman, by Mr. Langevin, by Mr. Rogers, by Ms. DeLauro--three HASC subcommittee chairmen, two HASC ranking members, and a Defense appropriator. It is an amendment that is supported by the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee. It is rare to find such different groups in support, the Navy League, the United Auto Workers, International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, AFL-CIO; yet this amendment has that support. The reason these planets are all aligning in this rare configuration is because it is also rare--in fact, once every other generation--that we have to build something like the Ohio class submarine; yet it falls upon this generation. In 4 years, we will begin the procurement. In 6 years, we will start construction of 12 ships--they call boats--that will carry 70 percent of the nuclear deterrence of this country--$92 billion. The national sea-based deterrence fund we formed last year helps us prepare for that in advance, instead of waiting until the night before to come up with $92 billion. It transfers $1.4 billion into a fund and allows the Department of Defense to find other moneys, a rare thing for the government to actually prepare in advance, instead of waiting until the last minute to prepare. It will help to purchase in bulk and save perhaps millions, maybe even billions of dollars. Now, I know there are voices that say in this world, with all the threats we see and all the demands we have for national defense, we cannot find creative solutions, and we have to do everything the way we have always done it. We disagree because, if we are not creative, if we don't find other solutions, CRS says we could lose--32 other ships, including as many as 8 Virginia class subs, 8 destroyers, and 16 combatant ships. Those same voices will say, We can't set up a fund like that; yet they have already set up four different funds very similar to that. We ask for your support for this amendment. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FORBES. Mr. Chairman, could I ask how much time I have left?

Mr. FORBES. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Courtney).

Mr. FORBES. Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wittman), the chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness.

Mr. FORBES. Mr. Chairman, I yield 45 seconds to the distinguished gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Langevin), who is the ranking member of the Emerging Threats Subcommittee for the House Armed Services Committee.

Mr. FORBES. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. FORBES. Can I request how much time I have left?

Mr. FORBES. Mr. Chairman, the last two speakers have made my point for me. Mr. Blumenauer made the same arguments 4 weeks ago. It was defeated by 375 votes. The last gentleman that spoke said it is $102 billion. The question is whether we wait until the night before to come up with $102 billion or whether we start now and make sure we have it. This is a national priority. I hope we will pass this amendment and build these ships. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FORBES

Mr. FORBES. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. FORBES. Mr. Chairman, this is the second part of a two-part amendment that deals with the sea-based deterrence fund. We began this 4 weeks ago when the Armed Services Committee put in this fund. We, at that particular point in time, transferred $1.4 billion to the fund. In addition to that, we gave authorities for additional moneys to be transferred by the Department of Defense. Four weeks ago, we had 375 Members who voted in favor of that provision. When it was challenged on the floor a few hours ago, we had 321 Members who have supported that. All of the same individuals are supporting this fund that did so earlier. I could repeat all that, but we have already done that, so I would just say all of the arguments we had earlier and all of the people who supported it then continue to support it now. I hope the will of the House will prevail and that the amendment will be accepted. If not, I hope it will be adopted by the House. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FORBES

Mr. FORBES. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. FORBES. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wittman), the distinguished chairman of the Readiness Subcommittee.

Mr. FORBES. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Courtney), the ranking member of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee.

Mr. FORBES. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FORBES. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Washington (Mr. Kilmer).

Mr. FORBES. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FORBES. Mr. Chairman, in closing, I do agree with the gentleman that it is difficult to project what our seapower needs would be out two decades down the road or even a decade down the road, but we must try. That is why you will see a bipartisan opposition to his amendment. One thing about each of the individuals who spoke in opposition to his amendment is that I sit side by side with them in classified hearings and in nonclassified hearings as we try to make those projections, because, under the Constitution, we have to raise Armies and we have to maintain Navies, and to create the carriers that we would need would take 6 to 9 years. We don't have that option when we need them. Had we not stepped in as a Congress, we would never have had a carrier with the strike capability, because the Pentagon actually wanted them for ISR capabilities. Had Congress not stepped in, we wouldn't have had Tomahawk missiles because the Pentagon actually was not going to try to produce them. Without Congress' stepping in, we would not have had jointness. The reason we have to step in for this number of carriers is that, as you have heard mentioned, if we don't have these carriers, we will automatically go from 7 months deployment for our sailors on these carriers to as many as 9 months or 10 months--an extra 2 to 3 months. Ask those families what an imposition that is. The second thing, Mr. Chairman, is, if we don't have them, we will have gaps in the national defense of this country. As my friend Mr. Courtney mentioned, just recently, we had a carrier out there for 54 days, fighting ISIL, when we had no other capabilities of doing it. Had we not had that carrier, we would have had difficulties as a country. The third thing is, by not having these carriers, we run our other carriers harder, faster, and burn them out more. Essentially, we are consuming the next generation's national defense. The final thing, Mr. Chairman, is, if you were to look just a few years ago, our commanders around the globe were able to meet 90 percent of the requirements they needed for the United States Navy. This year, we will only meet 44 percent of those requirements. If we allow this amendment, there will be a commander somewhere who won't have that carrier group when he needs it. I hope we defeat this amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.