[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 149 (Thursday, October 6, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H6631]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           SERVICEMEMBERS, MILITARY FAMILIES AND BUDGET CUTS

  (Mrs. DAVIS of California asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in 
support of our servicemembers and their families. For the last 10 
years, our all-volunteer force has graciously and without complaint 
done all we have asked for them. They have deployed, many more than 
once, leaving their friends and families here at home to go fight on 
foreign soil.
  And today, during this time of budget constraints and upcoming cuts, 
we must remember the sacrifice our service men and women, as well as 
their families, have made. We cannot balance our budget by cutting the 
benefits they have earned and deserve.
  I agree that all aspects of government spending must be looked at and 
considered for possible cuts. In this era, where our budget is so out 
of balance, no one entity can be spared. However, we have to make smart 
cuts and ensure that our fighting men and women are taken care of. We 
need to look at weapons programs that no longer meet our needs, 
redundancies that can be streamlined and other programs that should be 
more efficient.
  I encourage my colleagues on the supercommittee to fight for our 
brave men and women by protecting the benefits they so rightly deserve.

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