Ike Skelton

Mr. SKELTON

Mr. SKELTON. Let me say at the outset that it's important that this school continue to succeed. It does yeoman's work, not just in educating, but in building fences between our country and those in Latin America. The military culture reigns, as it should, and friendships are formed through the years. And I think that transparency as to who goes, who graduates, and the fact that names and pictures are put in the advertising brochures lets everyone know that this is not such a secret thing. Openness is important. The Defense Department, up until 2005, released the names of instructors to the public under the Freedom of Information Act. I think, in order for this school to be fully transparent and successful, it should allow the names to be made public.

Mr. SKELTON. Madam Chairman, I was sorely distressed when I learned of the fact that there were a good number of former military officers that were given special access, many of whom had conflicts of interest in various defense businesses, and they were considered military television analysts. You see, people in the military are trusted by Americans. People who are retired military are trusted by Americans. And what's interesting is that this special group had special access to information in the Pentagon and obviously used that in their analysis when talking of the Middle East on television. And what's really interesting is the fact that their special access was canceled.

Mr. SKELTON. Gathering information, Madam Chairman, on Iraq's nuclear program is an important priority for our Congress. The November, 2007, National Intelligence Estimate provided the needed reappraisal of Iran's nuclear intentions and capabilities. This amendment is sure that that assessment process continues. Given the differing conclusions between the then-NIE and its predecessor and their analysis of the status of Iran's nuclear program, it's appropriate that we continue to receive reports. This amendment details specific information necessary for congressional oversight, which we have been stressing in our committee all year long. This amendment replaces and improves on the text of our committee, which was of course approved on a bipartisan basis in our committee markup last week. This amendment appropriately identifies the Director of National Intelligence as the official to provide that assessment. I think it's an excellent amendment. I thank the gentleman from South Carolina for clarifying the text and replacing it with this amendment.

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I reserve a point of order.

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my point of order, and I rise in opposition to the motion.

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, it's very difficult for me to understand or believe that a motion on the bill named in honor of our good friend and colleague, Duncan Hunter, is being sent back with the word ``promptly'' when everyone knows that under rule XXI, clause 2 of our House rules, a motion to recommit using the word ``promptly'' with instructions sends the bill back to committee and kills it. Mr. Boehner just spoke a moment ago about this being the last time this bill would be considered. I trust he would vote against this motion to recommit. Because if this motion prevails, along with it goes a pay raise, health benefits, so many good things for those wonderful troops that we support. The committee would be forced to take it up, and it would come back and then be subject to a point of order because it violates the PAYGO rules. I'm surprised and shocked and saddened at this because, Mr. Speaker, there has never been, in the history of this body, a motion to recommit using the word ``promptly,'' which would have the effect of killing the bill. I recognize my friend from Texas.

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I yield now to the majority leader, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).

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

Mr. SKELTON

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous materials in the Record on H.R. 5658.

Mr. SKELTON

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Clerk be authorized to make technical corrections in the engrossment of H.R. 5658, including corrections in spelling, punctuation, section and title numbering, cross-referencing, conforming amendments to the table of contents and short titles, and the insertion of appropriate headings, and division designations.

Mr. SKELTON

Mr. SKELTON. I thank the gentleman from Florida for yielding. I appreciate the fact that we will be again having a rule taken up in the Rules Committee. I look forward to the second rule for tomorrow. I rise, Mr. Speaker, in favor of the rule. This is an excellent bill. It is, of course, the annual defense authorization bill, bipartisan I should say, very bipartisan in nature because the vote on final passage out of our committee was 61 Members to none. And I cannot be more pleased with the work that our committee has done, the ranking members, the subcommittee chairmen who really did yeoman's work, and I want to thank them for all their excellent and successful efforts. I might mention at the outset that this defense authorization bill, which is for 2009, is named in honor of former chairman, now ranking member, who will not be returning to us next year, the gentleman from California, Duncan Hunter. That is certainly fitting and proper that we do so to recognize his efforts on national security through the many years he served on the committee, as well as the leadership positions. This bill authorizes $531 billion in spending for the defense and national security functions of the Department of Energy. It also authorizes a $70 billion bridge fund, which will be considered shortly. The pay raise to the troops, 3.9 percent, is five-tenths of a percent more than the administration recommended. And it rolls back the administration's proposed fee increases on health care as well as pharmacy costs. It increases the size of the military, something I have been urging since 1995. It increases the size of the Army by 7,000 and the Marines by 5,000. They're overburdened and they're strained, and this is one step towards relieving that strain. A major problem today is that of readiness, or a lack of readiness. We restore a great deal of readiness to the military in this bill in various manners, essentially in training and equipment. There is $800 million in National Guard and Reserve equipment; $650 million to upgrade military barracks for those trainees that are coming through. It improves our efforts in Afghanistan. It bans permanent bases in Iraq. It requires Iraq to do more for itself in the reconstruction area, establishing a formula by which they, with their oil surplus, will have to contribute toward that end. There are additional steps regarding contractor oversight. Regarding nuclear nonproliferation, we increase the funding by $245 million. That's a very major step. The European missile defense effort was cut by $370 million. It does a great deal toward national security. I want to take this opportunity to support the rule, and of course when the time comes, to support the bill itself. Hopefully we will have some excellent amendments that will be considered tomorrow. And we will send this on to the Senate and hopefully have an excellent bill at the end of the day. The young people in uniform, of whom we're so very, very proud, deserve the best. This is one way we in Congress can make sure they get the very best through this defense authorization bill.

Mr. SKELTON

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 5 minutes to my colleague, my friend, the gentleman from Washington, who is also the chairman of the Subcommittee on Terrorism and Conventional Threats and Capabilities, Mr. Smith. (Mr. SMITH of Washington asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, today the House begins consideration of H.R. 5658, which is the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2009. This bill is a collective effort in the bipartisan tradition of the House Armed Services Committee which approved the bill in markup by a vote of 61-0. It is an excellent bill. I want to thank the members of our Armed Services Committee, particularly the subcommittee chairmen, the ranking members, and actually every member of the committee. Let me take this opportunity to also, Mr. Chairman, recognize the ranking member and former chairman, Duncan Hunter, for once again being a great partner on this bill, and he is certainly to be commended and thanked for it. I am proud that Duncan and I have worked so well together through the years and always with the common goal of enhancing American national security. It is only fitting, Mr. Chairman, that as Duncan Hunter plans to retire at the end of this Congress, our committee colleagues unanimously voted to name this bill in his honor, recognizing Duncan Hunter's many years of service on the Armed Services Committee, and also recognizing his unfailing support of our men and women in uniform. And we thank him publicly for that. Mr. Chairman, let me discuss some significant provisions of the bill. It reflects our committee's view that restoring military readiness must be our number one priority. This is serious business. If, after more than 6 years of war, our effort is to restore military readiness, then it must be sustained in order to meet not just current military challenges, which are monumental, but prepare for the unexpected conflicts we may face in the future. We don't know what is around the corner. I might point out, in the last 31 years American military forces have been engaged in no less than 12 military conflicts, four of which have been major in size. The bill directs approximately $2 billion toward unfunded readiness initiatives requested by the services. It includes $932 million to deal with equipment shortages as well as for equipment maintenance. The bill also provides for some $800 million for National Guard and Reserve equipment, and $650 million to keep defense facilities in good working order and to address urgent issues such as dilapidated military barracks. To boost readiness and to reduce the strain on our forces, the bill increases the size of our military; 7,000 additional Army troops, 5,000 additional marines, and prevents further military to civilian conversions in the medical field by authorizing an additional 1,023 Navy sailors and 450 additional Air Force personnel. The bill also maintains our efforts to support and honor the men and women who serve our Nation in uniform and their families, providing a much needed 3.9 percent pay raise increase, and again, prohibiting increases in health care fees, among a range of other initiatives. I might point out, the administration recommended only a 3.4 percent pay raise, and we raised that, as we should have. The authorization bill also keeps our focus on Afghanistan, which is the primary front in the war on terror. The bill requires the administration to submit separate budget requests to clearly lay out the requirements for the war in Afghanistan, and on the other hand, the war in Iraq. It requires a system be set up to measure the success of the U.S.-led Provincial Reconstruction Teams, and requires more robust congressional reporting on the training of the Afghan Security Force. Finally, the bill requires the Department of Defense to address the issue of command and control for forces in Afghanistan operating under Operation Enduring Freedom, as well as the NATO International Security Assistance Force. The bill authorizes a $70 billion bridge for the fights in Iraq and Afghanistan. But we remain convinced that it's well past time for the Iraqis to step up and contribute more substantially to their very own security, as well as their prosperity. With the Iraqis' overwhelming budget and capital account surpluses, the bill requires Iraqis to invest more in their own reconstruction, as well as their own security efforts. The bill also includes steps toward contracting reform after the substantial improvements in the law which we enacted in our previous bill last year. This bill underlines our commitment to preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. It adds $31 million for the Cooperative Threat Reduction programs of the Department of Defense, and some $215 million from the Department of Energy's nonproliferation programs. That's important. Finally, I want to say a word about the need for reforms in the way our government coordinates and executes its national security policy. Many here in Congress as well as the executive branch are working to improve our interagency system. It's a massive effort that cannot be accomplished in any one single year. I remember well the now famous Goldwater-Nichols Act. It was an effort over 4 years in the Congress of the United States which, of course, made jointness part of the military culture, and this may well be along the same line, although hopefully it will not take 4 years to accomplish. But it cannot be done in one single year. At the appropriate time during the bill's consideration, I will offer an amendment along with Chairman Howard Berman of the Foreign Affairs Committee and Appropriations Subcommittee Chairwoman Nita Lowey to establish a standing advisory board to work with the Secretaries of State and Defense on interagency matters and report to Congress their recommendations. Before I reserve the balance of my time, let me pay tribute to those Members who plan to leave Congress at the end of this session and for whom this will be their final defense authorization bill. In addition to the retirement of our friend and ranking member, Duncan Hunter, I want to express my appreciation to two other senior Members who plan to retire, Congressman Jim Saxton and Congressman Terry Everett. Both these gentlemen have made a very important contribution to our committee through the years and, consequently, have been wonderful partners, as well as outstanding Americans. In addition, two of the most capable and committed members of our committee, Rob Andrews and Mark Udall, plan to leave in order to seek other offices. The House and our committee are all the better for their service, and we wish all of these members who are not going to return to our committee next year all the best. They will be missed. This is a critical time in our Nation. This defense bill is a very important one. I urge Members of this House to support this defense authorization bill. It does so much in the area of readiness, to support our men and women in uniform and their families, and to protect the American people. With that, and additional thanks to my friend, Duncan Hunter, on his final bill, we appreciate your work, your efforts, your friendship, Mr. Hunter. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 5 minutes to my friend, my colleague, the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Tauscher) who also is the chairman of the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces.

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Chairman, at this time I yield 5 minutes to the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Military Personnel, the gentlelady, our friend and colleague, Mrs. Davis.

Mr. SKELTON. At this time, I yield 5 minutes to my good friend and colleague, the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Taylor), who is also the chairman of the Subcommittee on Seapower and Expeditionary Forces.

Mr. SKELTON. I yield 2 additional minutes to the gentleman from Mississippi.

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Chairman, I recognize, for purposes of a unanimous consent request, the gentleman from Ohio. (Mr. KUCINICH asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Chairman, before I recognize the gentlelady from California, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Mississippi.

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to my friend, the gentlelady from California (Ms. Loretta Sanchez), who is also a senior member of the Armed Services Committee.

Mr. SKELTON. I yield 5 minutes to my good friend, the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Snyder), who's also the chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Chairman, I yield the gentlewoman 30 seconds.

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Chairman, at this time I yield 5 minutes to my colleague and friend the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Ortiz), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Readiness.

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Chairman, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SKELTON. I yield 5 minutes to my friend, the gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Abercrombie), who's also the chairman of the Subcommittee on Air and Land Forces. (Mr. ABERCROMBIE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)