mr. chairman , i rise in support of h.r. 1268 . 
i would like to thank the committee leadership for their efforts to provide our men and women in uniform with the equipment that they need to succeed . 
as a member of the house armed services committee , i have worked with my colleagues to provide much-needed force protection equipment to our troops . 
h.r. 1268 includes $ 75 million for body armor , $ 51 million for up-armored humvees , and $ 611 million for add-on armor kits for vehicles . 
having visited our wounded soldiers at walter reed army medical center , i know that we can prevent further injuries by funding this important equipment , and i appreciate the committee 's efforts in this area . 
furthermore , the bill raises the military death gratuity from $ 12 , 000 to $ 100 , 000 and increases subsidized life insurance benefits from $ 250 , 000 to $ 400 , 000 for families of service members who died or were killed on active duty , retroactive to october 7 , 2001 . 
as a cosponsor of legislation to increase the military death gratuity , i believe we must appropriately honor those that have made the ultimate sacrifice , and these benefit increases are one small gesture that congress can make to demonstrate our respect . 
this legislation also demonstrates our nation 's commitment to aiding those in dire need throughout the world . 
h.r. 1268 includes $ 656 million for disaster relief to the victims of the tsunami as well as essential peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance to darfur . 
however , i was deeply disappointed that the house leadership used a procedural move to attach the language of the real id act , which i opposed when the house considered it in february . 
the real id act would significantly alter our nation 's asylum and immigration laws in the name of homeland security , though its provisions went far beyond the recommendations of the 9/11 commission . 
the senate has already registered some opposition to the real id provisions , and i fear that their inclusion in the house 's supplemental bill will slow down the process and prevent us from sending assistance to those who need it most . 
our primary responsibility should be to assist our men and women in uniform and to fulfill our promises to the nations that were devastated in the december tsunami . 
i urge my colleagues to move swiftly to pass this measure and to drop any extraneous provisions that would hinder this important funding . 
