Political Quotes

“I have divided feelings about the Conference Report on the fiscal year 1996 Department of Defense authorization bill. I am very pleased that the conferees have retained my amendment prohibiting members of the Armed Forces convicted of serious crimes from receiving their pay. Also, I am pleased that the conferees deleted language mandating the deployment of an antiballistic missile system--a clear violation of the ABM treaty. However, I am compelled to vote against the bill because, among other objectionable provisions, it includes a House provision that requires the separation of military personnel who test positive for HIV. This provision is cruel and nonsensical. It has had no rational basis whatsoever. The Department of Defense opposes this policy change. The current policy--developed in the Reagan and Bush administration--works well. Under current policy, military personnel who test positive are permitted to keep their jobs, so long as they are physically able. HIV-positive personnel are not eligible for most overseas deployments. Currently, HIV-positive personnel are treated in the same manner as other soldiers with chronic ailments such as diabetes and heart disease. Only about 20 percent of the roughly 6,000 worldwide nondeployable troops are HIV-positive. This provision would unfairly single out HIV-positive troops for separation. This provision simply makes no sense.”