[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 83 (Friday, May 28, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1000]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2011

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                               speech of

                     HON. STEPHANIE HERSETH SANDLIN

                            of south dakota

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 27, 2010

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 5136) to 
     authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2011 for military 
     activities of the Department of Defense, to prescribe 
     military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
     other purposes:

  Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN. Madam Chair, I rise today in strong support of 
amendment number 38 to the National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal 
Year 2011.
  I would like to thank Chairman Skelton for including this amendment, 
which I introduced, in an en bloc package today.
  Representative John Fleming of Louisiana, a member of the Armed 
Services Committee's Air and Land Forces Subcommittee, is cosponsoring 
the amendment. I appreciate his support and the leadership he has shown 
on the issue of improving and protecting our nation's bomber fleet.
  This amendment requires reports from the Institute of Defense 
Analyses, the Congressional Budget Office and the Department of Defense 
that, taken together, will provide a comprehensive review of the 
sustainment and modernization requirements and costs related to the 
U.S. bomber force and long-range strike capability.
  Over the past year, as I've met with Air Force leaders, including 
Secretary Michael Donley and Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz, we 
have discussed the need to sustain and modernize our nation's current 
bomber fleet as the Air Force begins to develop a next-generation 
bomber and long-range strike capability needed to maintain a strategic 
deterrence.
  Since I was first elected to Congress in 2004, I have worked closely 
with the brave airmen at Ellsworth Air Force Base in my state of South 
Dakota. Ellsworth is home to two wings of B-1 bombers, and I know the 
important role those planes have played in Iraq and Afghanistan. These 
planes, and the other bombers in our fleet, project power across the 
globe in order to keep potential enemies at bay and also serve to 
protect and save the lives of troops fighting on the ground.
  As Members of Congress, we are charged with equipping our Armed 
Forces and are responsible for allocating taxpayer funds in the most 
fiscally responsible manner. This amendment ensures that we will 
accomplish both goals by better informing Congress and the Department 
of Defense on the best path forward for our nation's bomber fleet.
  I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense amendment.

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