Political Quotes

“Madam President, the Department of Defense runs schools that serve over 86,000 children across America, Europe, and in the Pacific region. That is why I was able to get together with Senator Graham and Senator Inhofe to work on a way we could get those schools fixed because they are crumbling. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I will show this picture from one of the schools. We can see the tiles on the roof crumbling. We have had that in our public schools, before we woke up. Literally, these tiles fall down, and it is just by the grace of God that a child or a teacher doesn't get hit and very hurt. Clearly, we need to do something about it. What I would like to say is, we started off with an amendment that actually required the DOD to fix these schools. Now we are asking for a report that they do it because we have to avoid some parliamentary procedure problems of legislating on approps. So we believe we have done this. I think everyone should be read last month's Newsweek. They published an investigation by the Standard for Public Integrity, which documented the conditions of DOD-run schools with serious problems, leaks, corrosion, mold and overcrowding and relying on temporary facilities. My amendment has the strong support of the National Military Families Association. They sent me a statement and I will close with this. DOD schools, especially at U.S.…”