[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Page 22773]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS

  Mr. REID. Madam President, this afternoon we will begin work on the 
Defense appropriations bill, as I announced. The bill provides $636 
billion in new discretionary authority for the Department of Defense, 
including more than $128 billion in funding for overseas contingency 
operations.
  This is a good bill. It provides funding to grow the Army by 22,000 
soldiers, provides $108 billion for procurement of new equipment that 
our men and women in the military badly need as a result of the 
equipment having been damaged, destroyed, and worn out in Iraq and 
other places. It also provides for a modification of tactical vehicles 
to better protect our forces in battle.
  In Nevada, there are significant contributions being made, as we 
speak, to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, with more than 700 Nevada 
Guard men and women in combat today. Because the desert terrain in 
Nevada is similar to that in Iraq and Afghanistan, many of our Nation's 
warriors prepare for their deployment in Nevada. The Naval Air Station 
in Fallon, in northern Nevada, is the home to the Navy's preeminent 
strike and air warfare center, which includes the Navy Fighter Weapons 
School, better known as Top Gun. Naval Air Station Fallon also houses 
the Strike Warfare Center and the Carrier Airborne Early Warning 
Weapons School.
  If you are a Navy fighter pilot, the only training that allows you to 
have, in effect, a Ph.D. in flying the Navy's top fighter planes is 
going to Fallon. Hawthorne Ammunition Depot has been in existence since 
the late 1920s as a result of a huge explosion of an ammunition 
facility in New Jersey. Since the late 1920s, this base--in very arid, 
dry, north-central Nevada--serves as the staging area for conventional 
bombs, rockets, and ammunition, a role it has filled since World War 
II.
  Creech Air Force Base, located about 35 miles north of Las Vegas, 
employs the combat-ready Unmanned Aircraft System or what we call the 
drones. It is known as the Joint Unmanned Aircraft System Center of 
Excellence. It is from that facility that the strikes take place in 
Iraq and Afghanistan; that is where the people on the ground actually 
do the work that allows these vehicles to do their damage, wherever 
they are designated to go.
  Finally, Nellis Air Force Base, outside Las Vegas, home of the first 
dedicated air warfare and later air-ground training facility, continues 
to provide advanced air combat training for U.S. and allied forces. 
This is the home of the Thunderbirds.
  The fiscal year ends tomorrow. We need to pass this Defense bill to 
ensure these men and women in uniform--our soldiers, marines, sailors, 
air men and women--have every resource they need to successfully carry 
out their mission. Whether stationed in Nevada or on one of our many 
bases around the world, all America's troops are depending on us to do 
something and do it quickly.
  The managers of this bill, Senators Inouye and Cochran, were here 
last Thursday and Friday. They are back this afternoon, ready to 
complete action on this legislation. This is an extremely important 
piece of legislation. The Senate needs to act on it very quickly so we 
can get to conference and minimize the time the Department of Defense 
has to operate on a stop-gap continuing resolution.
  I hope people who have amendments to offer will offer them. We have 
already had 2 days to offer amendments. We have two of the most 
experienced managers in the Senate with Senators Inouye and Cochran. I 
hope people would offer their amendments because we are not going to be 
on this bill all week. We are going to get off this as soon as we can.

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