Congressional delegation discusses military readiness

A bipartisan coalition of congressional members met on Thursday to discuss overall military readiness and highlights of the delegation’s trip to California at a press conference in Oceanside.

The group included U.S. Reps. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), Mike Turner (R-OH), Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Scott Peters (D-CA).

During the trip, the representatives toured local defense facilities and visited both Camp Pendleton and the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.

“We have had a very busy and productive day: this morning we saw a number of production and repair lines and talked to people who make major defense programs possible,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez said that the delegation also visited two major shipyards in San Diego and fostered discussion amongst the workers about the importance of sustaining effective shipyards in order to maintain strong and modernized ships.

“Congress is responsible for oversight and ensuring the men and women serving this country are provided the best capabilities,” Sanchez said. “However, we must also ensure these programs run efficiently and that they will meet the needs of today’s threats. Today, we saw American workers making America safer and my colleagues will agree we must do our part to ensure this continues.”

Sanchez is a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee and ranking member of the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee.