Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the rule so that we can get on to discussing an extremely important matter, not only the domestic issues that will be included in this piece of legislation which are absolutely essential. We do need to educate our kids. We do need to provide for critical domestic policies. I also want to get to the issue of the war, particularly the war in Afghanistan, of which there will be some $30 billion allocated for that war. I strongly oppose that appropriation. The Lee amendments, the McGovern amendments, the Obey amendments all come to grips with that and, in various ways, will cause us to get out of that war. We have to focus laser beam-like on al Qaeda, but that doesn't mean that we have to engage in a counterinsurgency program in Afghanistan. $30 billion. The Pentagon estimates that it's $875,000 per soldier in Afghanistan. Roughly $87,000 is enough for a well-paid teacher in America. That translates to 300,000 teachers. If we took that $30 billion and used it in America, we could employ 300,000 teachers. We have to have a strong economy. We know that economy is in desperate need of a well-educated workforce. Better to spend the money here at home. Better to focus laser beam-like on al Qaeda wherever it may be in this world, whether it's in Aden, whether it is in Saudi Arabia or whether Sudan or Afghanistan and Pakistan, but not engage in a terribly expensive counterinsurgency program in Afghanistan. Some of us were around for the Vietnam War.…”