Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of S. 4949, the National Cemeteries Preservation and Protection Act introduced by my Senate counterpart, Chairman Tester. One of the features or bugs of the Senate--depending on your perspective--is that one single Senator, no matter their party, can hold up meaningful and needed legislation in order to satisfy their own aims. It is incredibly frustrating, especially in the veterans' policy space. We work closely with our veteran and veteran service organization stakeholders on everything we do, and there is always something quite sad when we tell these stakeholders that very worthy policy is being held up because so-and-so is making a demand that may not be related to veterans issues at all. So, often we are brought to the brink where good legislation may not make it over the finish line, and this year was no exception. We held our breath while waiting to see if legislation related to helping survivors of military sexual trauma, disabled veterans, and student veterans would survive the Senate hotline. Luckily, it appears much of it did, and I am appreciative of Chairman Tester and Leader Schumer's efforts to push those bills through. I want to note that here in the House things have worked out a bit differently. Things move forward based on consensus building and efforts to find common ground, and I am proud of the bipartisan work my committee has achieved.…”