well, unfortunately for general cartwright we now know that no study was done.and it's our understanding that the comment of general cartwright is being corrected for the record and that we're receiving a corrected statement coming to the competen committe. i want to quote from a statement by pentagon spokesman regarding the comments of general cartright can and this comment is in the daily report. it turns out a recent study touted by pentagon leadership as the justification for terminating the f-22 fighter isn't will a study at all but a series of briefings by d.o.d.'s program analysis and evaluation shop and the air force. that word comes from the pentagon's top spokesman, jeff morel, who told the daily report on tuesday that the study, whatever it is, is not so much a study as work products. asked to describe the nature and timing of the study he told the "daily report," what i think general cartwright was referring to is two different work pods, one by the p.a.e. shop and one by the air force and not so much a study. since that time only 183, f-22's have be

he said, "i was" -- this is general cartwright speaking. he said, "i was probably one of the more vocal and ardent supporters for the termination of the f-22 production, and the reason's twofold." first, he said, "there's a study in the joint staff that we just completed and partnered with the air force on that, that, number one, said that proliferating within the united states military fifth-generation fighters to all three services was going to be more significant than having them based solidly in just one service because of the way we deploy and because of the diversity of our deploymen deployments. point number two, in the production of the f-35 joint fight striker, the first aircraft variant, will support the aircraft replacement of the f-16's and f-15's. it is a very capable aircraft. it is ten years newer" -- and he's refer here to the f-35 -- "it is ten years newer in advancement in avionics and capabilities in compar compariso the f-22. it is a better, more rounded, capable fighter and," he goes on relative to point number two, "th

last week, in a hearing before the senate armed services committee, we had general james cartwright, who is the joint chief of staff vice chairman, and at that hearing, i asked general cartwright -- and i want to make sure i get my language just right -- i asked him if there was a -- if there was any study or any analysis done at the pentagon that validated the number 187? and what general cartwright told me was, he said there is a study on the joint staff that we just completed and partnered with the air force which validates the number of 187. well, yesterday, or on monday afternoon, a reporter asked a pentagon official and the top spokesman from the pent gone, jeff morel -- pentagon, jeff morrell, made the statement in response to a reporter's inquiry about that study as follows. he said: "well, it's not so much a study as a work product. i think what general cartwright was referring to is two different work products, one by the program analysis and evaluation shop and one by the air force, not so much a study. so what's happened is there have been discussions with the pentagon to

joining us to talk about this today is chief cartwright. thank you for being with us. >> great. >> tell us more about what this event entails. >> today marks a very significant event in the history of the baltimore city fire department as we will be hosting a ceremony to commemorate 150 years of service of the baltimore city fire department. we'll have many visitors from the fire service attending this event. we'll have many retired apparatus, antique apparatus, some of our late-model apparatus converged on the scene here. we'll have remarks by fire service individuals talking about the changes that have taken place over the many years of the baltimore city fire department. >> this kicks off at 4:00 p.m. at war memorial plaza. tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. there will be the fire service parade, right? >> absolutely. tomorrow we will be hosting the 26 annual fire house parade. it will actually come around key highway to conway street and end on charles street. >> all right. thanks, chief, for checking in with us. >> great. >> it looks like you will

that is end of the quote from general cartwright.is what this amendment would do, give secretary defense, joint chiefs, secretary of the army, the latitude to increase the army temporarily by as much as 30,000. why? to reduce the -- to increase the dwell time, the time our troops can spend at home and thereby reduce the stress in the most significant way imaginable. mr. president, i deeply appreciate that general cartwright would speak so clearly about the army's requirements for additional soldiers in the coming months and about how hard he and the secretary, secretary gates, are working to support our troops. i believe it's our duty to make sure they have all the room, all the authority they are required to do so. let me just speak a word or two more about what dwell time is. dwell time is the time that our soldiers have between active duty deployments. time they spend recovering and preparing for their next deployment. and most significantly, to our soldiers i would guess, precious time they can spend at home with their families.

the day after general cartwright appeared i receive a letter from the commandant of the marine corps, general james conway and i ask unanimous consent the letter be included in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. lieberman: i thank the chair. in this letter general conway writes "procurement of less than the optimum ramp up of 28, h-1's lead to continued reliance on aging helicopters that should have been retired from the inventory years ago as we focus on operations in afghanistan sustaining the introduction of the h-1 is vital for our future success." he continues "because of the severe operational limitations of the corps' legacy helicopters, the marines are transitioning to the improved kippibilitys of the uh1y which will be deployed in a sphul fuld drop in november which is desperately needed in combat today. and i received a letter from major general retired from the army reserve now acting executive director of the reserve officers association and says the reserve officers association representing 65,000 reserve component members supports the lieberman-mcc

earlier this month general cartwright, the vice-chairman of the joint chiefs testified that the department of defense is considering a number of missile defense options in europe. this amendment is also consistent -- it is also consistent that the administration's efforts to pursue missile defense cooperation with russia is part of our efforts to address the iranian missile threat and those missiles of course potentially could be armed with nuclear warheads. this potential iranian missile threat is a threat that confronts not just europe, as nato, but also russia. as well obviously as a number of other countries. it is a real threat, and everything that we can do to deter are that, everything we can do to defend should it ever materialize, is something that we must do. it is a major threat. and in one of its findings, nato recognizes this iranian threat, and this is the way they did it. this is the way nato recognized this iranian threat and the importance of trying to work together to deter, to try to prevent it from happening, and then should it happen, to defend against it. and to make

opponents of the raptor will most likely dispute this, pointing to comments made by general cartwright during his july 9 testimony before the senate armed services committee. during his testimony, the general stated the decision to terminate production of the f-22 is supported by a -- quote -- "study in the joint staff that we just completed and partnered with the air force." however, my staff has inquired by this study and was informed a recently completed comprehensive analytic study does not exist. no doubt the joint staff has prepared some justification for f-22 termination, yet i believe it is only natural to question the objectivity of any assessment which justified -- justifies previously reached decisions. unfortunately, yesterday, mr. president, my suspicions about this so-called analysis were proven correct when geoffrey morrell, the pentagon's spokesperson, stated that the general was referring to -- quote -- "not so much a study but as a work product." therefore, i believe the congress should place great significance on the june 9 letter by general john coreley, the command

i ask that my colleagues join me supporting the speedy nomination of general cartwright. thank you very much, mr. president. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from washington. mrs. murray: mr. president, i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: a senator: mr. president, i ask that the quorum call be vacated. the presiding officer: the senator from mississippi is recognized. without objection, so ordered. mr. wicker: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, we need serious substantive health care reform. the reasons for reform are well known and there is a consensus in congress that something needs to be done to make health care more affordable and assessable. the american people also want us to act, but this desire for action shouldn't give way to legislative haste. americans want us -- do not want us to rush at the expense of getting it right. they have questions, and they deserve answers. there are two very basic and important questions with regard to health care reform. number