Ike Skelton

Mr. SKELTON

Mr. SKELTON. Madam Chairwoman, I thank the gentleman for yielding. And first I want the gentleman from Texas to know how much the committee appreciates his strong support for our Nation's Armed Forces, particularly for the United States Army. He is just superb. The Army is bearing the brunt of the burden of military operations in Iraq, as well as Afghanistan, and our committee has worked to ensure that soldiers on the ground have the equipment they need to accomplish their mission and come home safely. Beyond taking care of the needs of the warfighters in the field today, we must address the Army's long-term modernization and readiness requirements. That is why the bill before us here today fully funds the most critical elements of the Future Combat Systems program, which will keep the program on track to conduct the limited user test next summer. While the bill cuts some funding for some redundant programs and overhead costs, along with parts of the program which are not scheduled to be fielded until 2015, the $2.8 billion in the bill includes full funding for all Spinout 1 activities, allowing them to continue as planned. I want to assure the gentleman from Texas that we will continue our efforts to balance the Army's immediate near-term as well as long-term needs as we work through the conference process. As Congressman Abercrombie said last week during consideration of the bill in the committee, finding that balance is a work in progress. To the gentleman from Texas, you have my assurance that we will provide funding for the FCS program so that the Army can move forward with modernizing its equipment and its networks. As we focus our efforts, as we focus our dollars on today's soldiers, we can't shortchange our future forces.

Mr. SKELTON. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SKELTON. Madam Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Courtney), a member of the Armed Services Committee.

Mr. SKELTON. Madam Chairman, I yield 1 minute to my friend, the gentlewoman from New Hampshire, Ms. Shea-Porter.

Mr. SKELTON. Yes. If the gentleman would yield.

Mr. SKELTON. I certainly do agree. I think that's a reasonable request, and I think the gentlelady from Illinois also would agree to it.

Mr. SKELTON. Madam Chairman, let me take this opportunity to compliment the gentlelady, Ms. Schakowsky, and also Mr. Price, the gentleman from North Carolina, and thank the ranking member, Mr. Hunter, for working this out. It's a step in the right direction. It's also an example of bipartisanship, and we appreciate it.

Mr. SKELTON. Madam Chairman, I claim time in opposition, though I will not oppose this amendment.

Mr. SKELTON. Madam Chairman, actually I thank the gentleman from New York for bringing this amendment forward. It would provide cost free vouchers to allow mailing of packages to members serving in Iraq and also in Afghanistan, and the committee has no objection and appreciates the thoughtfulness on this issue. Madam Chairman, I yield back.

Mr. SKELTON. Madam Chairman, may I make an inquiry?

Mr. SKELTON. Would it be possible, Madam Chairman, to bring forward the amendment of the gentleman from Pennsylvania at a later moment as opposed to what was announced earlier?

Mr. SKELTON. Yes. Amendments En Bloc Offered by Mr. Skelton

Mr. SKELTON. Madam Chairman, I offer amendments en bloc.

Mr. SKELTON. Madam Chairman, I urge the committee to adopt the amendments en bloc, all of which have been examined by both the majority and the minority. Madam Chairman, at this time I yield 1 minute to my friend, the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Kennedy).

Mr. SKELTON. Madam Chairman, I yield 1 minute to my friend from California (Mr. Thompson).

Mr. SKELTON. Madam Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Mitchell).

Mr. SKELTON. Madam Chairman, I yield 1 minute to my colleague, the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Walz).

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for bringing the issue forward. And I assure the gentleman we do not want to raise the price of drugs for America's veterans and neither do we want to raise the price of drugs for men and women in uniform and their families. I will be pleased to work with the gentleman and my ranking member, Mr. Hunter, to request that the GAO conduct a study of the impact of Federal pricing on both the Department of Defense as well as the Department of Veterans Affairs and report back to Congress on its findings.

Mr. SKELTON. Well, it is certainly kind of you to make mention of that, and I appreciate it very much. I thank you for your friendship, of course, through the years. I do agree that we have been good friends and we have worked together so well. So that, of course, is all behind us. Thank you very much. I do look forward to working with you and Mr. Hunter on the issue as we move forward to protect not only our Nation's veterans, but our military personnel as well. And I think we will get there in this matter.

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

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this amendment.

Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Chairman, if you are a young man or young woman in either Iraq or Afghanistan in American uniform, you would like to know that monies authorized and appropriated from this body for Iraq or Afghanistan will not be diverted to planning any operations elsewhere. That's what this is. This simply ensures that funds that Congress approved for other purposes are not diverted to planning operations against Iran. It's that simple. It increases the ability of Congress to provide oversight for planning of military operations, and it would not restrict the Department of Defense from planning any necessary contingencies regarding Iran using the base defense budget. This is a good amendment, and I compliment the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews) for offering it.

Mr. SKELTON. I certainly do.

Mr. SKELTON. I understand that the gentleman from California requires additional time; is that correct?

Mr. SKELTON. I yield to the gentleman.