Political Quotes

“I rise today to give my qualified support to the Defense Appropriations bill. I voted for this bill because the men and women who are, at this very moment, defending our honor and protecting our freedoms from the most horrific assault ever perpetrated against this Nation need critical items funded in the bill. I qualify that support because there are numerous programs and pork projects that will not support the critical needs of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines. Even worse, there are projects that I believe are necessary to our national defense which have been severely under-cut to meet the top line numbers while these less than mandatory projects have been added and given millions, if not billions, of dollars. I agree with my colleague from Arizona that, once again, the Appropriations Committee has run roughshod over the legislative process, circumventing the authorization process and the will of the Senate at the last minute of the last day of the session. Obviously, we must fund our current military campaign and our other defense needs; so I will support this bill to provide necessary funding. I only hope we will be able to make more efficient and effective use of taxpayer dollars for our national security needs in the future.”