In February 1995, during an interview, Thurmond stated that he had survived "a little power play" orchestrated by fellow Republicans, enabling him to continue serving as Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman. At the end of June, when the Senate Armed Services Committee unveiled a bill that would eliminate funding proposed by the House in its version of the 1996 National Defense Authorization Act while purchasing parts and continuing production of B-2 bombers, Thurmond called it an effort to "achieve the appropriate balance of readiness, modernization and quality of life program." In late 1995, Thurmond joined a bipartisan coalition of politicians in supporting a petition intending "to loosen the rules governing the prescription drug methlyphenidate". Thurmond attended the December 1995 funeral of South Carolina state senator Marshall Williams.