Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of [the rule and] H.R. 5122, and thank Chairman Hunter and Ranking Member Skelton for their hard work.  This bill helps our men and women serving in the armed forces and makes investments to keep our military strong in the future.

I supported this measure in the House Armed Services Committee because it contains a number of provisions to assist our servicemembers and their families, as well as military retirees.  It includes a 2.7 percent pay increase for military personnel – higher than what DOD requested – and much-needed increases to end-strength numbers.  It blocks a controversial DOD recommendation to increase TRICARE fees and deductibles for military retirees and also expands TRICARE eligibility for reservists – two issues that have been very important to my constituents.  I think the committee leadership for their efforts to accomplish these important goals. 

I am particularly pleased the H.R. 5122 addresses the current crisis in our submarine industrial base.
 
Our Navy has no plans to develop a replacement for the VIRGINIA-class, which threatens to cause our design and engineering base to disappear.  If we lose design capability, we will do irreparable harm to our shipbuilding industry.  The bill also includes $400 million to expedite the construction schedule for VIRGINIA-class to that we can start building two per year as early as 2009.  The Navy’s current shipbuilding plan would have our submarine fleet drop to dangerously low levels, and this bill clearly states that we cannot allow that to happen. 

However, I remain troubled by provisions regarding fee increases for certain prescription drugs under TRICARE as well as controversial language regarding religious expression by military chaplains.  I hope that we will be able to consider amendments tomorrow to address those topics.  Overall, however, the underlying bill addresses many urgent needs of our military, and I encourage my colleagues to support it.