mr. wittman: thank you, mr. chairman. i rise in strong support of the national defense authorization act for fiscal year 2010. and i'd like to take a moment to highlight some important aspects of the bill. the members and the staff of the house armed services committee are dedicated to supporting our men and women in uniform and this bill truly reflects our undying commitment to those service members and i'm pleased to see this bill makes progress toward strengthening our naval power and projection on the high seas. we must continue to develop the industrial base and promote ship building to establish a floor, not a ceiling, of 313 ships in our navy. our nation's security and forward presence also depends on the timely delivery and deployment of our various naval platforms. therefore, i urge my colleagues to support the provisions that provide for the construction of a new virginia class submarine, research and development funds for the s.s.b. and ohio class replacement submarine and advanced procurement for the new ford