Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Frankel and Congresswoman Jackie Speier of the Democratic Women's Working Group for hosting tonight's Special Order and for their constant advocacy on behalf of the victims of the Marines United scandal. The gentlewoman is correct. While I was not blessed with a daughter, I was blessed with three sons, one who I am proud to call a veteran of the United States Air Force. My son Christopher was the first one to leave home, and I can't imagine, as a mother of a child who is leaving him for the first time going into basic training, receiving the types of calls that these parents must have received, completely heartbreaking. One of the stories that my son shared with me was of a suicide that happened that involved one of his classmates, and how the parents found out about her suicide through a Facebook post because everyone was sharing a condolence note. So these things happen; and while we cannot and may not be able to always control the actions of these young men and women, there is a basic understanding and expectation from parents like myself that when we send our boys, and our young men and our young women, daughters and sons, to the military, that they will be taken care of; and when they file a complaint, that those complaints will be taken seriously and fully investigated. They deserve nothing less. Sexual harassment in the military certainly isn't new, but this scandal is a wake-up call that we cannot afford to ignore.…”