[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12186]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          KEEP OUR NATION SAFE

  (Mr. ROONEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. ROONEY. Madam Speaker, keeping our Nation safe is our most 
important responsibility under the Constitution as Members of Congress.
  When we talk about sequestration, we're really asking are we really 
going to shirk that responsibility, are we really going to cut national 
defense and force our country to grow weaker and weaker over the next 
10 years. If we don't prevent these massive cuts, we'll be left with 
our smallest ground forces since 1940, fewest ships since 1915, and our 
smallest Air Force in our history.
  Our Secretary of Defense says these cuts would be devastating and 
would seriously damage readiness. Does anything else we really do here 
matter if we knowingly let our defenses down, if we aren't ready to be 
able to defend ourselves?
  If there's wasteful spending in the Pentagon budget that we could cut 
without impacting national security, then we should do so. I led the 
fight to kill the extra engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter 
program, saving taxpayers billions of dollars. The White House doesn't 
dispute the impact of these cuts, but won't put forward an alternative. 
The Majority Leader of the Senate won't schedule a vote on the House 
bill, but won't introduce a plan either. We have to do something to 
avoid these massive cuts to keep our country safe.

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