Buck McKeon

Mr. McKEON

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. I want to thank the other committees who worked closely with us all year and members of the Armed Services Committee once again. Especially I want to thank our staff directors, Bob Simmons and Paul Arcangeli. They have worked tirelessly, as have all of these other people that have been putting in countless hours to get us to this point. This legislation addresses a wide array of policy issues, including supporting operations in Afghanistan, strengthening our partnerships in the Middle East, reinforcing our capabilities in the Pacific, combating sexual assault in the military, enhancing missile defense, and maintaining this Nation's nuclear deterrent. Though the significant cuts to the defense budget continue to have a profound effect on readiness, our modernization programs, and the defense industrial base, the bill adequately sustains training, critical assembly lines, shipyards, and manufacturing expertise to keep our wartime military properly prepared, equipped, and supplied. Each of these efforts is important for the security of our homeland and our allies. We have worked on a bicameral, bipartisan basis to get this legislation done. It is my sincere hope that we can continue working together to limit the damage to our military and their readiness resulting from sequestration. What we are considering here today is a step in the right direction. It is a solid product thoroughly debated and deliberately considered. I urge my colleagues to support and vote in favor of this legislation. As Adam said, we have a great partnership. I think the thing that makes our committee work so well together is it is not about jobs. Sometimes people say, well, we just have a defense so that we can provide jobs. We have a defense because the Constitution says that we provide for the common defense. We have to be kind of the ones that keep the ceilings open, the skies free, this Nation free from terrorism. I talked to General Odierno, the Chief of our Army last week, and he said in 2008, the budget for the U.S. Army was $250 billion. This year, it is $150 billion. For people who are saying we are really not cutting, we are just slowing the growth rate, we are cutting. The thing that has been most affected is our readiness, and that is what causes lives to be lost because our troops aren't getting sufficiently trained before they go to Afghanistan, before they go into harm's way. This budget will help. I talked to General Dempsey yesterday, and this will help them get back on their feet in readiness. I want to thank Adam for his true friendship and partnership, and I encourage all of our colleagues to vote for this bill, to sustain the efforts of those who are willing to put themselves in harm's way to protect us. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McKEON

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I send to the desk a concurrent resolution and ask unanimous consent for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. McKEON

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Colonel Philip Bossert of the United States Air Force. Colonel Bossert bravely, and peacefully, embarked on his final journey after a valiant battle against glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. A decorated veteran of 4 wars, Colonel Bossert honorably served his country for more than three decades. Phil graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1982, and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the USAF. During the ensuing years he received a Masters of Arts in Economics, magna cum laude, from Old Dominion University; a Masters of Military Art and Science from U.S. Army CGSC; a Master of Public Administration, summa cum laude, Auburn University; and a Master of Arts in Strategic Studies from the Air War College. From 1983 through 1987 he served as a CT-39B aircraft commander and C-21A instructor pilot out of Langley AFB in Virginia. From 1987 through 1991, he was a C-141B instructor pilot and wing combat plans officer at McGuire AFB in New Jersey. In 1991, Phil had assignments in Colorado, Kansas, and Illinois, and by 2000 he was a Lieutenant Colonel and Commander of the 821st Air Mobility Squadron out of McGuire AFB. Shortly after 9/11, Phil was deployed to Bagram Air Base outside of Kabul, Afghanistan. At one point, he was the highest ranking officer at the air base between December 2001 and February 2002. After Afghanistan, Phil became the Chief of Training and Exercises for the NATO Interim Deployable Air Operations Center at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. He was bumped to full bird Colonel in 2004, at which time he became Commander of the USAFE Air Mobility Operations Control Center, also at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. This put him in charge of the entire C-141 fleet for Europe and the Middle East. Among his many awards and decorations are the following: the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medals, the Army Commendation Medal, Air Force Outstanding Unit Medal, Air Force Organizational Medal, the Combat Readiness Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Southwest Asia Service Medal, and the Kuwaiti Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia & Kuwait). Phil summed up his time in uniform by saying that ``I will be at peace with myself knowing that I did my job during the longest war in American history.'' Then, after 28 years of dedicated service to our great nation, Phil decided to retire in 2010 and enter the private sector. Instead of pursuing a career in academia, Phil again was serving our country as a private citizen, offering up leadership training to the Afghan military. He was assigned to the NATO training mission at Camp Eggers, in the Green Zone in Kabul, and taught 30 senior Afghan officers how to develop a three-year, $15 billion defense budget. Phil had a focus and a drive in him that was unparalleled. He was relentless. He was detail oriented. His rich understanding of global affairs was perfectly complimented by an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Aside from the aforementioned masters' degrees, he had also served on the faculties of the Air Force Academy and the University of Houston, and was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Phil published 97 articles, book reviews, and editorials on various topics. He also published two books, and was currently in the process of working on his third about his three deployments to Afghanistan. Phil had a no-nonsense outlook on life. In his words, ``[stuff] happens and it's out of our control. You just have to live your life to the fullest and have no regrets.'' Colonel Bossert epitomized the American ethos of hard work, dedication, and strength of body, mind, and spirit. He devoted his life to the service of others, and I would have been honored to have had the privilege of knowing him better. Colonel Philip A. Bossert, USAF (Ret.) was 54. He was a hero.

Mr. McKEON

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chair, I submit the following exchange of letters: House of Representatives, Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Washington, DC, June 7, 2013. Hon. Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon, Chairman, Committee on Armed Services, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman McKeon: I am writing to you concerning the jurisdictional interest of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology in H.R. 1960, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014. Our Committee recognizes the importance of H.R. 1960 and the need for the legislation to move expeditiously. Therefore, while we have a valid claim to jurisdiction over the bill, I do not intend to request a sequential referral. This is, of course, conditional on our mutual understanding that nothing in this legislation or my decision to forego a sequential referral waives, reduces, or otherwise affects the jurisdiction of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. Further, I request your support for the appointment of Science, Space, and Technology Committee conferees during any House-Senate conference convened on this and any similar legislation. I also ask that a copy of this letter and your response acknowledging our jurisdictional interest be placed in the legislative report on H.R. 1960 and the Congressional Record during consideration of this measure on the House floor. I look forward to working with you on this important legislation. Sincerely, Lamar Smith, Chairman.

Mr. McKEON

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chair, I submit the following exchange of letters. Committee on Education, and the Workforce, Washington, DC, June 7, 2013. Hon. Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon, Chairman, Committee on Armed Services, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing to confirm our mutual understanding with respect to H.R. 1960, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014. Thank you for consulting with the Committee on Education and the Workforce with regard to H.R. 1960 on those matters within the committee's jurisdiction. In the interest of expediting the House's consideration of H.R. 1960, the Committee on Education and the Workforce will forgo further consideration of this bill. However, I do so only with the understanding that this procedural route will not be construed to prejudice my committee's jurisdictional interest and prerogatives on this bill or any other similar legislation and will not be considered as precedent for consideration of matters of jurisdictional interest to my committee in the future. I respectfully request your support for the appointment of outside conferees from the Committee on Education and the Workforce should this bill or a similar bill be considered in a conference with the Senate. I also request that you include our exchange of letters on this matter in the Committee Report on H.R. 1960 and in the Congressional Record during consideration of this bill on the House floor. Thank you for your attention to these matters. Sincerely, John Kline, Chairman.

Mr. McKEON

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

Mr. McKEON. I yield 2 minutes to my friend and colleague, the chairman of the Seapower Subcommittee on the Armed Services Committee, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Forbes).

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Ohio, Dr. Wenstrup.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Cotton).

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Pompeo).

Mr. McKEON. I yield 2 minutes to my friend, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Thornberry), the vice chairman of the HASC Committee.

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

Mr. McKEON. I yield myself the balance of my time. I strongly oppose this amendment. Two-and-a-half years ago I sent the President a letter about these important issues. I said in that letter: I fully recognize the importance of crafting a careful and comprehensive framework for the detention of terrorists who wish to harm the United States. I also recognize the challenges and legal complexities related to such an endeavor. This appreciation is why this issue is simply too important for the administration to address on its own. The President did not take up my offer at that time. Nearly a year later in another unanswered letter, I wrote: While I remain open to working together, I am very disappointed that the administration has frequently shown a greater willingness to engage with international institutions, foreign governments, and the media on issues relating to our national security than it has with the U.S. House of Representatives. Those are excerpts from two of the five letters that I've written to the President on this issue, which he has not answered. Yet, he still has not come forward with a proposal of oversight or any plan. What to do with Guantanamo is secondary to the President coming forward with a comprehensive plan. Such a plan must include what he proposes to do with those terrorist detainees who are too dangerous to release but cannot be tried. Number two, how he will ensure terrorists transferred overseas do not return to the fight? Three, what he will do with the terrorists we capture in the future; specifically, how will he prioritize intelligence questioning? Finally, what he will do with the high-value terrorists still held in Afghanistan? This is a particularly critical priority for me. There are several extremely dangerous individuals still in custody in Afghanistan. The only option that I see, as completely unacceptable for those detainees, is to allow their release. We've already seen the outcome of making this tragic mistake in Iraq. While I appreciate the proposed efficiency of my friend and colleague, Ranking Member Smith's amendment, we cannot strike all prohibitions on transfers of Gitmo detainees, agree to bring them to the United States, release them overseas, and end all funding for Gitmo with absolutely any confidence that any of this will be handled in a way that best protects our national security. Lastly, and this is important, I want to say that I'm proud of the men and women in uniform who serve our Nation every day at Guantanamo. It's not an easy duty. We owed them a debt of gratitude for their critical service to this Nation. I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. McKEON. At this time, Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Louisiana (Dr. Fleming).

Mr. McKEON. I yield the gentleman an additional 15 seconds.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, how much time do we have remaining?

Mr. McKEON. I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Huelskamp), my good friend.

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

Mr. McKEON. Madam Chairman, I rise to claim the time in opposition to the gentleman's amendment.

Mr. McKEON. At this time, Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Lamborn).

Mr. McKEON. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McKEON. Madam Chair, I yield 1 minute to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Texas, the vice chair of our committee, Mr. Thornberry.

Mr. McKEON. Might I inquire how much time we have remaining?

Mr. McKEON. Madam Chair, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Arizona, a member of our committee, Mr. Franks.