Senate Proceeding on Jul 21st, 2009 :: 1:44:05 to 1:50:45
Total video length: 2 hours 40 minutes Stream Tools: Stream Overview | Edit Time

Note: MetaVid video transcripts may contain inaccuracies, help us build a more perfect archive

Views:15 Duration: 0:06:40 Discussion

Previous speech:

Next speech:

1:44:03 to 1:44:25( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: the lessons of history and vote against the levin-mccain amendment and colleague from georgia for leading the fight with balance of my time. the presiding officer: who yields time? the senator mr. levin: how much time

1:44:05 to 1:50:45( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Ron Wyden

1:44:26 to 1:44:47( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: remains for the the presiding officer: 21 minutes. mr. levin: senator wyden, how much time did you mr. wyden: ten would be plenty. the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. wyden: madam president, i rise to support the levin-mccain amendment. it seems to me buying more

1:44:48 to 1:45:12( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: f-22's at this point would meet the very government waste. what you have is a situation where the pentagon which suffice it to say hasn't exactly been shy over the years in terms of calling for additional weapons, they are this is unnecessary.

1:45:13 to 1:45:33( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: further, i have been out with members of the guard at home a trying to get their sense of what is needed in a dangerous time and they never once mentioned something like this. they talked for example about body armour and boots. they don't talk about more

1:45:34 to 1:45:55( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: f-22's. when the congress is now having a debate about trying to find additional money for health care, for example, to go out and spend close seven more the air force says it doesn't want, i think just defies

1:45:56 to 1:46:16( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: commonsense. my home state, for example, workers that hav been laid off. we could be restoring infrastructure and renewable energy. again in high home state, we've

1:46:17 to 1:46:38( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: had budget shortfalls. we've seen reductions in essential services, law enforcement just being one. the debate in my view isn't about necessary steps to ensuring a strong national defense. the question is about whether the united states congress wants

1:46:39 to 1:47:02( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: to spend close to $2 pay for more fighter jets that i think it's also important to remember that the f-22 is not being purchased for wars that the united states is currently fighting. certainly the taliban and iraqi

1:47:07 to 1:47:28( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: gentes do nota force. i strongly meeive that the pentagon ought to be able to prepare for such possibilities. it is the pentagon who is telling us that we don't need these additional f-22's. i think it's also important to purchased 187 f-22's. so there is not debate about whether the united states ought

1:47:29 to 1:47:49( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: to have fighters in our arsenal. the debate is really whether or not the air force needs 194 of them instead of 187. we have a very good secretary of defense, robert gates, and robert gates has said that 187 are sufficient to combat current and future threats. he's the one who said that more

1:47:50 to 1:48:11( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: are not needed. he's the one who said -- and i quote -- "we must break the old habit of layering layer upon layer of cost, complexity and delay systems that are so expensive and elaborate that only a small number can be built and are then useable only in a

1:48:12 to 1:48:33( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: narrow range of low-probability scenarios." madam president, i think secretary gates has hit the nail just about as perfectly on the head as you can. he and our strongest defense possible, but there are ways to make better

1:48:34 to 1:48:54( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: use of that $1.75 billion an than on seven more f-2 2's. let me close by saying that i serve on the senate select committee on intelligence. i know that there are threats to our forces every single day. there is no question -- i see my friend from georgia, who s on the intelligence committee.

1:48:55 to 1:49:17( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: he feels very strongly about this as well. we need to make sure that we are protecting our troops in harm's way. but we have a variety of choices. we have order to secure the protection of our troops and i intend to work with

1:49:18 to 1:49:38( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: chairman levin, secretary the distinguished senator from arizona, and the president to ensure that we replace the current f-15 with more capable and safer fighters. last month i visited with some of the 3,000 members of the oregon national guard's 41st brigade combat team as they trained for their current

1:49:39 to 1:50:00( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: deployment to iraq. not a one of the soldiers told me tha whether the air force would have 194 f-22's inste of 187 of them. they talked to me instead about the best vehicles. they talked to me about the best medical care, if they're injured. they talked about the

1:50:01 to 1:50:21( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: armor and not a one of them mentionedhe f-22. madam president, i am not voting agains i am voting for the am voting for the taxpayer -- i am voting for the soldier. i am voting for the taxpayer. they both deserve our government's greatest protection at this critical in the meantime time in our history.

1:50:22 to 1:50:47( Edit History Discussion )

Ron Wyden: i urge the senate to vote for the l and with that, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: who yields time? cham madam president, how much time is remaining on both sides? the presiding officer: the senator from georgia has 11 minutes. the senator michigan has 15