Political Quotes

“Mr. President, for many years, I have supported the annual National Defense Authorization Act. The bill always contains many worthy provisions, and it usually passes with large majorities. After all, who wants to vote no when the common refrain to pass the bill is ``Support the troops''? But at some point you have to draw the line, and this year is where I draw it. Just look at these bills over the last few years. Five years ago, the NDAA was 968 pages--not unusual around here and something you can get your hands around. But last year, the NDAA report was 1,794 pages, and this year the report is an astonishing 4,517 pages--not even counting the classified annexes. I doubt anyone really knows what is in it except maybe some lobbyists. And get this: As the bill grew more than sixfold in length, we had even less time to read it. The number of people who could read the bill at any one time was restricted. Social distancing--``Can't have too many people in the room,'' we were told. That is fine. I understand. We are still in a pandemic. But then we should have had more time to review the bill, not less. Yet Armed Services Committee members were asked on this floor last week to sign the bill after having only a couple of hours to review it. As this massive bill was written in secret and then rushed to a vote, some seem to have forgotten to consult with the Commander in Chief or recall that he has veto power.…”