Senate Proceeding on Jul 21st, 2009 :: 1:51:15 to 1:59:30
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1:51:13 to 1:51:33( Edit History Discussion )

Saxby Chambliss: senator from georgia. mr. chambliss: senator inhofe had indicated a desire to come speak. he is tied up in an committee hearing. he may able to get here. we of course whriek to -- mr. levin: we of course would like to finish, so we'd like to be at the end of the line here, senator mccain and i. mr. chambliss: i will be happy to go ahead and make some

1:51:15 to 1:59:30( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Saxby Chambliss

1:51:34 to 1:51:55( Edit History Discussion )

Saxby Chambliss: comments. and then senator mccain and senator dodd and you can close it out. if senator inhofe comes in, we'll give him a couple is that satisfactory?

1:51:56 to 1:52:16( Edit History Discussion )

Saxby Chambliss: mr. chambliss: madam president, would you notify me when i have please. the presiding offic chair will notify. mr. chambliss: e five minutes. i'm sorry. and i would like to ask unanimous consent for the army fellow in my office, david evans to have floor privileges during the consideration of this bill. the presiding officer: without objection.

1:52:17 to 1:52:38( Edit History Discussion )

Saxby Chambliss: mr. chambliss: madam president, i want to make just a couple of quick comments relative to have been said up here. first of all, with regard to senator wyden's comments concerning the national guard, sure, all -- all of us want to make sure that we equip our

1:52:39 to 1:53:00( Edit History Discussion )

Saxby Chambliss: our active duty force with all of the needs that they have. but i would simply cite him to the letter of general wyatt, who is the head of the army guard -- excuse me, air force guard. and general wyatt says that f-22 is uniquely qualified to fill the needs that the guard

1:53:01 to 1:53:21( Edit History Discussion )

Saxby Chambliss: has for its national security missions. so to ev that the guard has issues with this program is simply not correct because the guard is on record as being a strong support -- a strong supporter of this program. i have a letter here from retired general david bakle,

1:53:22 to 1:53:43( Edit History Discussion )

Saxby Chambliss: retired from the united states army. he now -- acting executive director of the reserve officers association. alet me quot "war plans of the united states are predicated to provide asymmetric victory. the current cap of 187 f-22's is

1:53:44 to 1:54:06( Edit History Discussion )

Saxby Chambliss: an inade to ensure no future threat can impede the u.s. air dominance. the minimum number of f-22's to ensure a strong defense is 250." i would ask unanimous consent that the letter of retired general record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. chambliss madam chairman,

1:54:07 to 1:54:27( Edit History Discussion )

Saxby Chambliss: i also have quoted earlier the comments by an active duty general, a guy that i consider a great american hero, not just because he falls in that category of wearing the uniform of the united states of america, but he is standing up to the personnel at the pentagon and he's say, you guys are wrong. and for a general -- active duty

1:54:28 to 1:54:49( Edit History Discussion )

Saxby Chambliss: general to do that, it takes significant courage. and this is a guy i want in foxhole with m and that's general corley, who is commander of air combat command, who very clearly says in a letter that we have previously entered into the record that a fleet of 187 f-22's puts execution of our

1:54:50 to 1:55:11( Edit History Discussion )

Saxby Chambliss: national military strategy at high risk in midterm and that the minimum number of f-22's that we need in miss opinion, is 3881. i want -- is 381. i want to also, madam president, talk for a minute about senator mccain's comments on the cost. and this is an expensive weapons system.

1:55:12 to 1:55:32( Edit History Discussion )

Saxby Chambliss: but it's also the most sophisticated weapons system ever designed by mankind. and most important, it's doing its job. and it's doing its job in a very professional. instetted of costing $-- instead of costing $350 million that senator mccain stated in his earlier statements because of a multiyear procurement contract

1:55:33 to 1:55:54( Edit History Discussion )

Saxby Chambliss: that we entered into between the pentagon and the air force, as approved by this body -- and i know senator mccain o to that and i understand that by a vote of contract was approved by that body as well as by theouse. and as a result of that instead of paying that $350 million per

1:55:55 to 1:56:17( Edit History Discussion )

Saxby Chambliss: copy he alewded to, we are paying and that's in comparison to the $200 million a copy that's going to be paid for every single f-35 that budget, because the figure for 200 f-35's this in budget exceeds $6 billion.

1:56:18 to 1:56:41( Edit History Discussion )

Saxby Chambliss: now, madam president, there are a number of people who are watching today. certainly those folks at the pentagon are anxiously awaiting the white house is anxiously awaiting the results of the vote. the chinese are really anxiously awaiting this vote. there's been -- and i want to

1:56:42 to 1:57:03( Edit History Discussion )

Saxby Chambliss: quote from an article of july 19 from a gentleman named rober fisher jr. who is a senior fellow with the international assessment of strategies center. he chinese government says next to nothing and the u.s. government says very little, what is known about china's fifth-generation fighter program is

1:57:04 to 1:57:26( Edit History Discussion )

Saxby Chambliss: both of china's fighter manufacturers, the shin and shin yin duvment are competing to build a heavy fifth-generation fighter and there are serious china may be working on a medium-weight fifth-generation fighter similar to the f-35. china can be expected to put a fifth-generation fighter on its future aircraft carriers and it

1:57:27 to 1:57:47( Edit History Discussion )

Saxby Chambliss: can be expecte than 187." madam president, skilled that that article be entered in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. chambliss: ma president, let me close by saying this. there's another group that wa there. it is the men and women of the united states air force.

1:57:48 to 1:58:08( Edit History Discussion )

Saxby Chambliss: they're lieutenants, they're captz, and they're majors. they are watching this anxiously because they are saying to themselves, i signed up to be a part of a united states air force that believes in men and women in and women who are going to carry the fight to the enemy

1:58:09 to 1:58:29( Edit History Discussion )

Saxby Chambliss: members of congress? and what am i hearing from the leadership at the that we're going to move away from the most advanced fighter in the world today understand move too-to-a smaller -- and move to a smaller fighter. that we're going to movewayrom fighters and maybe altogether by going to u.a. v. is this the air force i signed up for? well, i can tell you why they're

1:58:30 to 1:58:51( Edit History Discussion )

Saxby Chambliss: anxiously awaiting the outcome of this, because they've talked to me time and time again about the fact that they're about their future in the united states air force. now, the worst thing we can do is to discourage those brave men and women who want to make a career of the air force and want to be wearing those two, three,

1:58:52 to 1:59:13( Edit History Discussion )

Saxby Chambliss: and foustars one of the days. but i assure, those lieutenants and those captains and those majors body does from a policy standpoint today. they know where their leadership at the pentagon is coming from. and they don't like whatter i what -- and they don't like what they're hearing. they are look fog congress to

1:59:14 to 1:59:30( Edit History Discussion )

Saxby Chambliss: fulfill the role what the director of the csis has said time and time again, and that is to objectively review the budget that the pentagon sends to the hill and we're in the process of doing that and exercising the type of oversight that we should exercise. with that, madam president, i