Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I rise today to tell the story of my constituent, Jennifer Kepner and to call for immediate action on the most pressing public health issue facing our veterans: toxic military burn pits. Four years ago, I met a veteran named Jennifer Kepner at her home in Cathedral City, California, in my district. Jennifer, a 39-year-old mother of two, was one of the most inspiring and brave people I have ever met, and that kitchen table conversation was one of the most impactful conversations in my life. When I met her, she was cachectic. You could see her bones. She was wasting away. She was battling pancreatic cancer and was on chemotherapy. You could see the port in her chest and you could see the loss of hair. And she was still so very full of energy inside to tell her story and sound the alarm. Her doctor linked her exposure to burn pits during her service overseas. You see, she was described as a health nut, as someone thin, healthy, who liked to run, and jog. Her friends would say: She was one of those crazy people who would wake up at 4 in the morning and go on a 5-mile run routinely. So when she came down with pancreatic cancer at such a young age, her physicians looked at her DNA, her family history, and they concluded that the most likely cause, given her low risk, was her exposure to toxic military burn pit smoke. I sat with her in her home as she told me her story.…”