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There are certainly members on this floor that are a lot more knowledgeable about this particular piece of legislation than I am. I don't serve on any of the relevant subcommittees on Appropriations, and so they're going to talk about it in more depth and detail than I ever could. But I tell you what -- and I certainly would be the first to say -- that we did not have a perfect process. I would have preferred individual bills, I think most of us on the Appropriations Committee would. And we didn't cut as much money as I would have liked to have cut.

New Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has been charged with cutting $450 billion from the Defense Department over the next 10 years. In keeping with that goal, the Air Force recently announced a realignment that will ultimately benefit Tinker Air Force Base. Tinker's Air Logistics Center will now become the new single head for Air Force sustainment and logistics, making it one of the military's leading repair and maintenance facilities. The assignment of a sustainment center and 3-star general highlights Tinker's pre-eminent role among air logistics facilities.

Bipartisan cooperation is often hard to come by in Washington, but some ideas are so bad that both Republicans and Democrats can agree to work together to oppose them. Such is the case with taxation of employee health benefits.

While President Obama crisscrosses the country complaining that Congress is not doing enough to create jobs, House Republicans quietly passed our 17th job-related bill of the year. Members of the president's own party even joined us this time, providing bipartisan action on jobs -- in contrast to a White House that only contributes empty, divisive rhetoric. By repealing the ridiculous 3 percent withholding tax requirement, we will remove yet another government-imposed obstacle to economic growth.