[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 73 (Thursday, May 15, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E981-E982]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            GEORGIANS MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN NATIONAL DEFENSE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MAC COLLINS

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 15, 2003

  Mr. COLLINS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to bring to your attention an 
editorial that appeared in Georgia's Columbus Ledger Enquirer newspaper 
on April 9, 2003 entitled

[[Page E982]]

``Georgians Make a Difference in National Defense.'' The editorial was 
written by Georgia State Senator Seth Harp, Chairman of the Veterans 
and Military Affairs Committee, and highlights the F/A Raptor Jet 
Fighter as essential investment to achieve air dominance for 21st 
Century military operations. The F/A 22 is important to my 
constituents, nearly 600 of them are working on the program in 
Columbus, Georgia and the plane itself is being assembled in Marietta, 
Georgia, but its real importance lies in the safety it provides our 
fighting men and women, and the security it brings to our national 
interests.

            Georgians Make a Difference in National Defense

       Military preparedness is as important today as it has ever 
     been. As the war against Saddam Hussein illustrates, it is 
     incumbent upon the military industrial complex to provide our 
     fighting men and women with the most sophisticated, accurate 
     and state-of-the art weaponry in the world. When the United 
     States makes the decision to enter a conflict, it faces two 
     challenges: achieve the ultimate goal as quickly as possible; 
     and bring our sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, 
     neighbors and friends home safely.
       That is why next generation aircraft, such as the F/A-22 
     Raptor, deserves the full consideration, funding and support 
     of Congress and the Pentagon. This jet fighter is currently 
     in the testing stage, but with full deployment close at hand, 
     we are about to see a revolution in how battle is waged in 
     the sky.
       The F/A-22 is supersonic, allowing our pilots to get to 
     their target, drop their payload, and return to base faster 
     and with a diminished threat of interception. The plane has 
     stealth technology, allowing the jet to enter enemy airspace 
     without detection and, for the first time, giving commanders 
     an opportunity to use fighter planes during the daylight 
     hours at the outset of a campaign instead of relying on the 
     cloak of darkness. It has the most sophisticated avionics and 
     weapon systems in the world, ensuring the dominance of air 
     space by our fighter pilots.
       Bottom line: The United States stands on the verge of 
     advancing fighter jet technology to levels unmatched, 
     unimagined and unbeatable by any other nation on Earth.
       There is a certain inevitability that the
     F/A-22 has its detractors. There are those that believe we 
     don't need improvements in fighter jet technology and that we 
     already have air superiority. Still others have pet projects 
     that they want funded with research, development and 
     construction dollars being spent on the F/A-22. And some 
     argue that our national security interests are being met and, 
     in fact, we need to scale back on funding next generation 
     technology.
       My response is we can agree to disagree. I believe strongly 
     that if the technology exists to advance the safety and 
     security of our nation and the men and women who fight to 
     protect us, we should aggressively foster the research and 
     development of those opportunities. The F/A-22 is proving 
     itself to be a giant leap in that direction, and Fred Reed 
     said it best in a recent article in the Washington Times: 
     ``Many weapons are just incremental improvements over 
     existing designs. Occasionally, however, a weapon makes a 
     major transition, as from propeller power to jet, and becomes 
     a completely new thing. The F-22 was one of these.''
       Right here in Columbus, nearly 600 of our neighbors are 
     working on the F/A-22 program, and the plane itself is being 
     assembled at the Lockheed Martin plant in Marietta. This jet 
     fighter is an important component to our nation's defense, 
     and we should be proud that Georgians are leading the effort 
     to bring it from conception to reality. As officials at the 
     Air Force said: ``Air superiority saves the lives of 
     America's sons and daughters who we send into harm's way in 
     the air, on the ground and at sea. The F-22 is an essential 
     investment to achieve that air dominance--the key for 21st 
     century military operations.'' It deserves our support, and 
     those Georgians working on bringing the F/A-22 to the 
     frontlines of our national defense deserve our thanks.

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