Political Quotes

“I thank Chairman Reyes for yielding to me and for the nice things that he says not only about me but surely about the women and men who serve our intelligence community around the world. And I thank him for authoring this resolution. Madam Speaker, every single time I enter CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, the first thing I do is to look at the wall of stars displayed in the lobby, each star, as we just heard, signifying a loss somewhere in the world of an agency employee. Some of those stars have no names attached, underscoring the sensitivity and singular importance of the missions undertaken by CIA women and men. On my most recent visit to Langley, in late December, I asked my host if any new stars had been added to the wall. Yes, he said, simply. Sadly, the next time I or anyone else enters CIA headquarters, seven more stars will be on that wall, stars honoring patriots I probably met on one of my many trips that I made as ranking member of the Intelligence Committee, and more recently as chair of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence. On those trips I always meet with our intelligence officers to hear firsthand about their work and to thank them for their service and sacrifice.”