[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10734]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



   REBUILD MILITARY TO ENSURE THAT FREEDOM AND NATIONAL SECURITY ARE 
                               PROTECTED

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JONES of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Hunter) was on the floor just a few minutes ago talking 
about missile defense systems and the need for missile defense systems.
  I would like to speak today about some of the activities of China 
selling military wares to Cuba. In my district, and I have the 
privilege to represent the third district of North Carolina, we have 
Camp Lejeune Marine Base, Cherry Point Marine Air Station, Seymour 
Johnson Air Force Base, and actually a Coast Guard base in Elizabeth 
City. I am proud to represent a district where there are so many men 
and women in uniform that are willing to die for this country; and 
certainly those who are retired, veterans and retirees, I thank them 
for their service.
  I am concerned that too many times we in this country take our 
freedoms for granted, and that is somewhat normal. But having a 
military district and being on the Committee on Armed Services, along 
with the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter), I am concerned that 
too many times we, as Americans, take freedom for granted. This is a 
very unsafe world we live in. There is a need to spend money to rebuild 
the military to ensure that the freedoms that we enjoy and the national 
security of this Nation, that we are well protected.
  I want to bring up a couple of points. This is a Washington Times 
article from Wednesday, March 28, 2001. Admiral Blair was speaking to 
the Senate Committee on Armed Services, and he warns of perilous 
buildup of Chinese missiles. I want to read this quickly.
  Mr. Speaker, the commander of U.S. forces in the U.S. Pacific told 
Congress yesterday that ```China's ongoing missile buildup opposite 
Taiwan is destabilizing, and will lead to a U.S. response unless 
halted. Over the long term, the most destabilizing part of the Chinese 
buildup are the immediate-range and short-range ballistic missiles, the 
CSS-6's and 7's, of the type that were used in 1996 to find the waters 
north and south of Taiwan,' said Admiral Dennis Blair, the Pacific 
commander leader.''
  I wanted to share that, Mr. Speaker, because again I think that we as 
a Congress understand our constitutional duties, and that is to ensure 
that we have a strong military.
  Tuesday of this week another one of our colleagues, the gentleman 
from Pennsylvania (Mr. Pitts), who is a veteran of the Vietnam War, 
came on the floor talking about China selling military materials to 
Cuba. I wanted to come to the floor with this enlargement of the 
Washington Times article that he made reference to that says China is 
secretly shipping arms to Cuba, and just again to say to my colleagues 
in the House as well as the Senate, soon we will be debating an 
emergency supplemental for our military. I think it is $5.8 billion, I 
wish it were closer to $9 billion, but we will debate that issue later.
  This is an unsafe world, and we must be sure that we are well 
prepared to defend the national security interests of this country 
because as we all went back on Memorial Day to pay homage to those who 
have given their life as well as to those who have served, we must 
always remember that freedom is not free; and to ensure that we have 
the freedoms that we enjoy, we must continue to invest, as the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter) was saying, in a missile defense 
system.
  And I am saying today, as have many of my colleagues on both sides of 
the aisle, and the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton) has been on 
the floor talking about this issue, he is the ranking member of the 
Committee on Armed Services, this year we must be sure that we work 
with a President who campaigned and said that we need to rebuild the 
military.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank the men and women in uniform; and I say 
respectfully, God bless America, and God bless those who served this 
Nation.

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