Political Quotes

“Madam President, I was saddened to learn of the passing of Thomas Edward ``Ed'' Braswell, Jr., and I offer my sincerest condolences to his family. Two former chairmen of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sam Nunn and John Warner, joined in expressing their gratitude for Mr. Braswell's exemplary service at a recent committee hearing. Mr. Braswell joined the Armed Services Committee staff in 1953 and served as staff director and chief counsel to the committee under the leadership of two of the titans of the Senate--Richard Russell and John Stennis--for 23 years. Mr. Braswell served the committee from the beginning of the Eisenhower Presidency to the end of Gerald Ford's, helping see the committee through most of the Cold War and all of the Vietnam war and its aftermath. As chief counsel to the committee, Mr. Braswell helped to write the first of our annual National Defense Authorization Acts in 1962, and stayed on long enough to play a key role in the next 14 NDAAs, helping start a tradition of legislative accomplishment that continues to this day. The Armed Services Committee has been blessed over the years with a number of staff members who have served the committee for a period of decades, dedicating their careers to the committee, the Congress, our national security, and our men and women in uniform and their families.…”