Political Quotes

“I wish to highlight a few items that are in the NDAA conference report authorization that we are considering this week. In April of this year, my office came across a $115,000 marketing contract with the New York Jets and some other teams. But the contract with the New York Jets showed that the weekly hometown hero tribute was actually paid for by the taxpayers. A resulting investigation found that other taxpayer-funded tributes were not just with the Jets or with the NFL but extended to other sports leagues, as well as the NCAA. We don't need this kind of paid-for patriotism. I wish to note that many in the NFL, many teams, and others of our sports teams and other leagues do this out of the goodness of their heart. It is what it looks like. But in many instances, these salutes to the troops have been paid for by the taxpayer. That needs to end. That is why I joined Senator McCain and Senator Blumenthal in adding an amendment to the NDAA that will bring an end to these taxpayer-funded salutes to the troops. This amendment also encourages sports organizations that have accepted these funds to consider making a contribution to a charity that supports members of the military or veterans or their families.…”