Political Quotes

“I thank Mr. Conyers, the Chair of the Judiciary Committee, for yielding and thank Mr. Reyes, the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, for bringing this legislation to the floor. They know, as does each and every one of us, that our primary responsibility is to protect the American people. Mr. Speaker, we take an oath of office, as has been referenced, to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States from all enemies foreign and domestic. In the preamble it states that one of our primary responsibilities is to provide for the common defense. We take those responsibilities seriously, and I don't take seriously any statements by some in this body that any person here is abdicating that responsibility. All of us understand also the role that intelligence plays. In protecting our troops, force protection, that used to be our primary responsibility and now, of course, Homeland Security is part of that. None of us would send our troops into harm's way without the intelligence to perform their mission and keep them safe, although some have been willing to send our men and women in uniform into harm's way without the equipment they need to keep them safe, but we don't make any accusations against them that they are not patriotic Americans who don't want to protect the American people.”