Political Quotes

“Madam President, this week, we are debating the National Defense Authorization Act of 2018. It is very important, and Members of both sides have contributed to this very important legislation we pass every year. It funds our military and authorizes its spending and training. It is really one of the most important things we do in the Senate. As have many others, I thank the members of the Armed Services Committee. I have the privilege of serving on that committee. I thank Chairman McCain and Ranking Member Reed for the hard work they and all of the members of the committee have put into this and for how seriously we take this responsibility. You have heard the discussions. This bill is needed now more than ever. We are seeing accidents, in terms of training, that are killing the lives of young men and women who are serving in the military, and a lot of it is due to readiness. In fact, in the past 8 years, the U.S. military has seen its budget decline by almost 25 percent. It is a huge decrease--just pick up the paper and see what is going on in the world--when we know that the national security threats to the United States have dramatically increased. We have decreasing budgets and increasing national security challenges, and this NDAA begins the much needed process of changing that. I would like to focus on one such threat that we need to address right now that is at the doorstep of our great Nation and what the NDAA is doing specifically about that threat.…”