House Proceeding on Oct 8th, 2009 :: 0:51:50 to 0:54:00
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0:51:43 to 0:52:03( Edit History Discussion )

Laura Richardson: gentlewoman from new york. ms. slaughter: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the gentlewoman from california, ms. richardson. the speaker pro tempore: the recognized for two minutes. ms. richardson: mr. speaker, as one of the house conferees of this report i have no confusion in terms of why i'm here and what we are doing to support the troops. i rise in strong support of this

0:51:50 to 0:54:00( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Laura Richardson

0:52:04 to 0:52:24( Edit History Discussion )

Laura Richardson: rule and the conference report of h.r. 2647 and i ask unanimous consent that my full statement be included in the record. i thank chairman skelton for his continued skillful leadership for the speaker reporting me as a conferee and mr. oberstar for recommending. what is the report about? there is no cover here. the report is clear.

0:52:25 to 0:52:45( Edit History Discussion )

Laura Richardson: it's about restoring and enhancing the readiness of our troops and the equipment. it's about taking care of our military personnel. it also authorizes need investments to keep our nation strong. so let's talk about what that means. troops, enabling that the department of defense would have 213 c-17's so we can support our men and women.

0:52:46 to 0:53:06( Edit History Discussion )

Laura Richardson: that our military families would not have to wait on a 3.4% military raise that they long deserved. but let me focus my final moment on why and what my specialty is and what i think is so important in this bill. talking about port security as national security. when we consider the provision

0:53:07 to 0:53:29( Edit History Discussion )

Laura Richardson: that is in this bill, port security infrastructure development program, it will enable our ports to finally come up to speed where we can be competitive as well as the economic engine that we reside in. now, let's talk about the courts. the role of our courts is not just economics, it's to connect the ports. that's the point. when you look at 14 commercial ports currently in the united

0:53:30 to 0:53:50( Edit History Discussion )

Laura Richardson: states, two of which are in my area, they are called strategic ports for that very reason. when you look at operations enduring freedom, that was the largest area where we had the sealift tonnage and troops moved through the port to enable us to respond. so when we talk about this defense authorization bill, it's quite clear what we are here today. we are here to talk about our

0:53:51 to 0:54:00( Edit History Discussion )

Laura Richardson: troops, to prepare them and give them the resource that is they so richly deserve. currently our ports are ruggling without enough money for the army corps to do the proper dredging.