Buck McKeon

Mr. McKEON

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I rise to claim the time in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pence). (Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. McKEON. I yield the gentleman 1 additional minute.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews). (Mr. ANDREWS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. McIntyre ), a member of the committee. (Mr. McINTYRE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 15 seconds. I strongly believe that a $110 billion noncompetitive sole source 25- 40 year contract should not be permitted. Therefore, I strongly support the inclusion of funding to complete the development of the F-136 competitive engine for the Joint Strike Fighter. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield the balance of my time to the ranking member on the Veterans' Affairs Committee, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Buyer).

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition, although I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. McKEON. At this time, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Tim Murphy), sponsor of one of the amendments.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter), a member of the committee.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time. I support this amendment; I think it's a good thing. I think that our whole country could use a little help in this area. Now, back to Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Again, I think it's very important that we do as Mr. Forbes said, a little common sense. When we tell the military we're going to get their viewpoint and then we say, never mind, we're going to move ahead, your viewpoint really doesn't matter, I think that that's a big mistake. I think this amendment is a good one, but I think only giving us 10 minutes to debate Don't Ask, Don't Tell is a mistake.

Mr. McKEON

Mr. McKEON. At this time I would like to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Shadegg).

Mr. McKEON. I want to thank the gentleman for bringing this amendment. This is something I was totally unaware of. I appreciate his work. This is a great addition to the bill. I support it wholeheartedly.

Mr. McKEON

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Taylor).

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. It has been a while since I read any of these letters. Maybe some people haven't heard of these letters yet, so I would like to read them. We are only given 5 minutes to discuss Don't Ask, Don't Tell, so we have to talk about it when we get an opportunity, because this is something that I think is going to affect the 2.5 million people in the military plus their families. So we have very strong feelings about this. It is unfortunate that the majority has only given us 5 minutes in which to express our views and have a chance to let the people of America know what is happening here. This is a letter from Secretary Gates that was written April 30, and then 2 days ago he reaffirmed his stand, that he still stands by what he wrote to Chairman Skelton: ``Dear Mr. Chairman, I am writing in response to your letter of April 28th requesting my views on the advisability of legislative action.'' So he is talking about the possibility that the Murphy amendment would be made in order for this legislation taken to repeal the so- called Don't Ask, Don't Tell statute prior to the completion of the Department of Defense review of this matter. ``I believe in the strongest possible terms that the Department must, prior to any legislative action, be allowed the opportunity to conduct a thorough, objective, and systematic assessment of the impact of such a policy change, develop an attentive, comprehensive plan, and provide the President and the Congress with the results of this effort in order to ensure that this step is taken in the most informed and effective manner. ``A critical element of this effort is the need to systematically engage our forces, their families, and the broader military community throughout this process. Our military must be afforded the opportunity to inform us of their concerns, insights, and suggestions if we are to carry out this change successfully. ``Therefore, I strongly oppose any legislation that seeks to change this policy prior to the completion of this vital assessment process. Further, I hope Congress will not do so, as it would send a very damaging message to our men and women in uniform that in essence their views, concerns, and perspectives do not matter on an issue with such direct impact and consequence for them and their families.'' Signed by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Admiral Mullen, and Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense. May I inquire as to how much time I have remaining?

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Putnam), who is the author of one of the amendments.

Mr. McKEON. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished chairman of the Armed Services Committee. But before doing that, I ask unanimous consent that the time for debate on amendment No. 79 offered by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Patrick J. Murphy) be extended by 30 minutes, evenly divided between opponent and proponent.

Mr. McKEON. I yield 30 seconds to the Army colonel in the Reserve, Mr. Buyer from Indiana.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Again, back to this point, I think we weren't concerned on the missile defense about putting them on the ships, what we're concerned about is we don't have the missile to put on the ships. And there will be a gap in the time that we don't have the other missiles before we get the missiles for the ships. So I think that's a concern we have, and hopefully that will be worked out, that we will have a missile instead of just a planned missile. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate my friend from Rhode Island's passion, and I share that with him. I have very deep concerns about the military. They have been asked over and over again, and they have responded over and over and over again. I have been to funerals and I have looked into the parents' eyes and talked to them. I also know in war there are no unwounded, as somebody more eloquent than I stated, and that is one of the tragedies. The other tragedy is what happened on 9/11, where we were attacked, and now we have been engaged in this worldwide war on terrorism. It is not something we asked for. It is just something that our Nation has responded from the days of the creation of this Nation, when the men rode to the sound of the guns, when they died at Valley Forge, frozen to death, starved to death. They have sacrificed for years. I am saying, give them an opportunity to have their say, to follow through with the plan that has been set. I yield back my time.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert).

Mr. McKEON. How much time do I have left?

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I rise to take the time in opposition although I don't oppose the amendment.

Mr. McKEON. I would be happy to yield 1 minute to my good friend from Rhode Island (Mr. Kennedy).