Senate Proceeding on Jul 16th, 2009 :: 1:57:45 to 2:13:15
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1:57:26 to 1:57:46( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: quorum call: mr. hatch: consent the be dispensed. .the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. hatch: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent paul williams a detail he in my office from the food and drug adminiration, and a military in my office from the air force be beganned floor privileges for the reminder of the first session of the 111th the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered.

1:57:45 to 2:13:15( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Orrin Hatch

1:57:47 to 1:58:07( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: mr. hatch: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i have been an active participants in the judiciary committee's sonia sotomayor confirmation hearings, i have followed with great interest the floor debate on the continuing production of the f-22 raptor.

1:58:08 to 1:58:28( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: i have heard a incorrect acertificates about the aircraft and have stood up to correct them but after listening to this week's debate and reading misleading articles, especially in the "washington post," about the f-22's performance and capabilities i believe the rapper's open poabts have hit bottom and begun to dig so

1:58:29 to 1:58:50( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: about the f-22 and its extraordinarily war-winning capabilities. fact one, the f-22 is and will continue to be the preeminent fighter bomber for the next 40 years. it is the stealthest aircraft flying today. unlike the f-117 nighthawk and b-two bomber, f-22's can be

1:58:51 to 1:59:12( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: deployed on stealth flight operations not just at twowsh hours a -- 24 hours aday giving unprecedented nextibility to engage tbrownd and air targets at a time of their choosing denying any respite to the enemy. the raptor has super cruise engines unique because they do

1:59:13 to 1:59:33( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: not need to go to afterburner achieve super sonic flight. this provides the f-22 with a strategic advantage by enabling super sonic speeds to be maintained for a far greater length of time. by comparison, all other fighters require their engines to go to afterburner to achieve super sonic speeds consuming a tremendous amount of fuel and

1:59:34 to 1:59:58( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: greatly limiting their range. the f-22 is the deadly of the fighter flying today. during a recent military exercise in alaska the raptor dispatched 144 adversaries versus the loss of only aircraft. further advantage resides in adollar. when entering hostile airspace,

1:59:59 to 2:00:22( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: the f-22 sensor fused can engage enemy aircraft before at enemy can hope to engage the f-22. at the same time, the advanced sensors enable the f-22 to be a forward surveillance platform capable of intelligence on the enemy.

2:00:23 to 2:00:43( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: often overlooked, the f-22 is a very capable bomber. it can carry two g.p.s. guided 1,000-pound joint direct munition dinameter bombs. fact number two, cold war dinosaur. it is designed to mt and

2:00:44 to 2:01:05( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: eliminate the threats of today and tomorrow. as the longest-serving member of the senate intelligence committee, i know full well the greatest air threat of today and tomorrow is and will continue to be the advanced integrated air defense system. such a system is composed of two parts. the first component is advanced surface-to-air missile systems,

2:01:06 to 2:01:27( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: such as the russian-made s-300, which has a range of over 100 miles. the second are highly maneuverable and sophisticated fighters, like the have been sold to china and india. coupled together, these antiaccess systems makes penetrating hostile airspace extremely difficult, if not deadly, for those aircraft

2:01:28 to 2:01:49( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: lacking the f-22's advanced stealth technology and sustained supersonic speeds, made possible by its supercruise energy. it is also important to rember the mainstays of our aerial fleet, the f-15, f-16, and fa-18 are not stealth aircraft not equipped with supercruise engines. unfortunately, integrated air

2:01:50 to 2:02:10( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: defense systems are relat inexpensive, placing them within the purchasing potential of nations like iran, with its seeming insistence on developing nuclear weapo the advanced integrated air defense system is exactly the threat the f-22 was designed to neutralize. in addition, the f-22 will almost simultaneously be able to

2:02:11 to 2:02:33( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: turn its attention to other ground targets that threaten t national secury of the u.s. and our allies. in a related argument, some argue the united states should devote more of its milit resources towards bolstering its counterinsurgency capabilities. this is a fair point. unwi permit its counterinsurgency

2:02:34 to 2:02:54( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: capabilities to the vietnam war. as events in iraq and afghanistan have shown, we continueo pay dearly for that error. however, as we reconstitute our ability to successfully prosecute counterinsurgency campaigns, we cannot make a similar mistake and undermine

2:02:55 to 2:03:18( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: one of the fundamental foundations of our military strength, the gemini in the air. even defense secretary gates said this january -- quote -- "our military must be prepared for a full spectrum of operations, including the type of combat we're facing in iraq and afghanistan as well as large-scale threats that we face

2:03:19 to 2:03:39( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: from places like north korea and iran." i could not agree more. and the aircraft that will enable our nation to decisively defeat our adversaries in the air happens to be the f-22. mr. president, others point out the f-22 has not been deployed in support of our operations in iraq and afghanistan. this is true.

2:03:40 to 2:04:00( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: however, t to deploy the f-22 to the persian gulf. but according to the july 9, 2008, edition of the widely respected "events news," the pentagon overruled those plans, citing concerns about -- quote -- dislocation." this means the f-22 is hardly a dinosaur.

2:04:01 to 2:04:21( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: it is a weapon that can change the balance of power in a region, and it's a weapon that can deter our adversaries. fact number three, 187 f-22's is an iufficient number to meet the requirements of our national military strategy mr. president, our nation's military requirements are

2:04:22 to 2:04:42( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: decided upon in detailed studies of the threats our nion and its allies confront. these studies also recommend force structures to deter and, if necessary, defeat threats to our national security. accordingly, the department of defense and the air force have conducted a number of studies to

2:04:43 to 2:05:04( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: determine how many f-22's are required to meet our national military strat i am unaware of any comprehensive study that has concluded f-22 production should cease at 187 aircraft. specifically, unclassified excerpts from the air force's sustaining air dominance study stated -- quote -- "180 f-2s

2:05:05 to 2:05:26( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: was not enough." and the department of defense's take-care organization study concluded the requirement of additional raptors -- quote -- "was the best option on april 1 were reinforced by comments made by general norton a. schwartz, the chief of staff of the air force, after the f-22

2:05:27 to 2:05:49( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: procurement termi announced. general schwartz stated -- quote -- "243 raptors is the military requirement." opponents of the raptor will most likely dispute this, pointing to comments made by general cartwright during his july 9 testimony senate armed services committee. during his testimony, the general stated the decision to

2:05:50 to 2:06:11( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: terminate production of the f-22 is supported by a -- quote -- "study in the joint staff that we just completed and partnered with the air force." however, my staff has inquired by this study and was recently completed comprehensive analytic study does not exist. no doubt the joint staff has

2:06:12 to 2:06:34( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: prepared some justification for f-22 termination, yet i believe it is only natural to question e objectivity of any assessment which justified -- justifies previously reached decisions. unfortunately, yesterday, mr. president, my suspicions about this so-called analysis

2:06:35 to 2:06:56( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: were proven correct when geoffrey morrell, the pentagon's spokesperson, stated that the general was referring to -- quote -- "not so much a study but as a work proct." congress should place great significance on the june 9 letter by general john coreley, the commander of air combat command,ho stated -- quote -- "at air

2:06:57 to 2:07:17( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: a need for 381 f-22's to deliver a tailored package of air superiority to our combatant commanders a globally deterrent against potential adversaries. in my opinion, a fleet of 187 f-22's puts execution of our current national military

2:07:18 to 2:07:38( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: strategy at high risk in the near- to midterm. to my knowledge, there are no studies that demonstrate 187 f-22's are adequate to support our national military strategy." that's a letter from general john coreley, the commander of the air combat command. now, mr. president, i believe these are important words

2:07:39 to 2:08:00( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: the four-star general responsible for the air force command which is the primary provider of combat air power to america's war fighting commands. fact number four, th "the washington alleged technical and maintenance difficulties of the f-22 was misleading and inaccurate. in fact, mr. president, the air

2:08:01 to 2:08:21( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: forc to this article. after viewing the first rebuttal, i found it striking that the air force stated six of the points made in the article were false, four were misleading, antwo were not true. specifically, the primary assertion made by the "post" was the f-22 caused far -- cost far

2:08:22 to 2:08:42( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: more per hour to fly than the aircraft is replacing, the f-15. however, this is misleading. only when you include all of the one-time costs that are associated with -- with a new military aircraft is this true. a far more accurate measurement is to compare variable flying hours.

2:08:43 to 2:09:04( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: the f-22 costs to fly versus $17,465 for the f-15. now, the f-15 costs less to fly but the 1960's designed f-15 does not have nearly the capabilities of the f-22. i want our young men and women who fly

2:09:05 to 2:09:27( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: capabilities they possibly can. the article asserts the f-22 is only a -- has only a 55% availability rate for -- quote airspace." this is misleading. overall, the f-22's -- the f-22's boast a 70% availability rate and that has been increasing every year over the

2:09:28 to 2:09:48( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: past four years. finally, the article states the f-22 requires significant maintenance. th but the post critical point. the f-22 is a stealth aircraft. making an aircraft from radar is not accomplished through magic.

2:09:49 to 2:10:09( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: it is achieved through precise preparation and exacting attention to detail. i believe we can all agree it is far to prepare an airplane that will -- manhours to prepare an airplane that will win wars than to replace aircraft after they have been shot down, not to mention the moral costs of not exposing

2:10:10 to 2:10:31( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: unnecessary dangers. fact number five, the f 2's detractors argue that the raptors' role can be filled by the f-35, also known as the joint strike fighter. but the raptor and the joint strike fighter were designed to compliment each other, not be -- complement each oh, not be disputed for each other. the f-22 is the nascar racer of

2:10:32 to 2:10:53( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: this air dominance team. fast and unseen, the rapto will punch a hole in the enemy's defenses, quickly dispatching any challenger in the air and striking at the most important ground targets. the joint strike fighter is the rugged s.u.v. of the team. impressive but not asthmmove toable or capable of sustained supersonic speeds.

2:10:54 to 2:11:16( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: the f-35 will exploit the hole opened by the f-22 and attack additional targets and directly support our ground forces. this is not to say that the f-35 wais not a highly capable stealthy aircraft, but the f-35's role is to supplement the f-22, not substitute for it. only by utilizing the strengths of both aircraft do we ensure

2:11:17 to 2:11:38( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: air dominance for the next 40 years. fact number six, our allies reco capabilities of the f-22 and a eager to purchase the aircraft. this is one of the most compelling reasons for purchasing additional numbers of f-22's. the japanese and australian governments have consistently approached our government about

2:11:39 to 2:12:03( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: purchasing the raptor for themselves. if the f-22 is such a boondoggle, why would these nations billions of dollars to purchase them? australia already plans to purchase up to 100-35's. why does it need the raptor? perhaps it is because nations realize the number of threats to their security can be

2:12:04 to 2:12:24( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: defeated only by the f-22 mr. president, in conclusion, we have an opportunity to ensure this and future generations continue to benefit from the foundations of our national security: the ability to defeat any air threat and strike any target anywhere in the world. the w

2:12:25 to 2:12:45( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: threats are growing today, we have an opportunity to ensure those air threats are met. and to be honest with you, our young men and women who fly deserve the very best equipment we can give to them. not equipment that is getting job. i hope my colleagues will join

2:12:46 to 2:13:03( Edit History Discussion )

Orrin Hatch: me and vote against the levin-mccain amendment. mr. president, i suggest the absence of a quorum. the pr will call the roll.