Duncan Hunter: “There are a few people I want to thank, too. I want to thank John and Jeff, who are here in this room, for the work that…”

“There are a few people I want to thank, too. I want to thank John and Jeff, who are here in this room, for the work that they have put into this. I want to thank Victoria Middleton, who is my chief of staff. This will be her last year. This is her first Coast Guard bill that we are getting done here. They have put in so much work and so much time. For myself, this is my first piece of legislation that I am going to be passing in this Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee with Mr. Garamendi. It has been a great time working with everybody. I want to thank, lastly, the men and women of the Coast Guard. They have been fantastic. They have really opened up their arms to us. We have been able to see what they do, how they do it, and what they have to do, day in and day out, for the people of this country and, frankly, people of every country. If you are on the open seas and something bad happens to you, it is going to be the U.S. Coast Guard that comes and saves you. If you are a bad guy running drugs from South America up to Florida, it is going to be a U.S. Coast Guard vessel that interdicts. I just want to thank the U.S. Coast Guard for what they do for this Nation because they are kind of the redheaded stepchild. They are a military service, but they are also a law enforcement entity. They get to do both things, and that is one of the things that makes them such a great organization. With that, Mr.…”