Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I want to take a second to thank Senator Inhofe and Senator Reed and their staffs for all of their hard work on getting us to this point on the Defense authorization bill, which is so very important. Through the European Deterrence Initiative, we have made important progress in preparing U.S. forces and allies to address Russian threats to American interests and the international order that protects them. I was just in Poland visiting U.S. forces with Senators Inhofe, Capito, and Enzi. We saw firsthand the work they are doing to preposition equipment and to establish the necessary footprint to sustain operations. The NDAA contains a provision that would require the Secretary of Defense to conduct an assessment of the feasibility and advisability of permanently stationing a U.S. Army brigade combat team in Poland. This amendment would require a report to accompany the assessment, detailing the requirements for combat enablers to deter aggression by Russia and to execute the Department of Defense's contingency plans. Combat enablers are the essential noncombat force that helps to maintain our defense posture around the globe. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment as the Senate continues to play its oversight role to ensure that we defend our interests and our allies in Europe against Russian aggression. I suggest the absence of a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll. The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.”