Political Quotes

“I am pleased to summarize the Military Personnel Subcommittee portion of H.R. 5136, and I want to thank Mr. Wilson and Chairman Skelton for their contributions and certainly to our hardworking staff. This bill continues to improve the quality of life for our servicemembers, their families, and military survivors who carry such a heavy burden for our country. Some of the highlights include continued support for increased end strengths for the active Army and Navy, a 1.9 percent pay raise, increases to hostile fire pay and family separation allowance, new initiatives to complement our Year of the Military Family, the authority for TRICARE beneficiaries to extend health care coverage to dependents up to age 26, adoption of the full range of recommendations by the Defense Task Force on Sexual Assault in the Military Services, and authorization of millions of dollars for Impact Aid. While we couldn't accommodate all the requests that were brought before the subcommittee, we were able to include many to address the needs of our military. But, Mr. Chairman, there is still a policy, a policy in place which no longer reflects the needs of our military. We can correct that today through the Murphy amendment to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell. The intent of this amendment is not to freeze the DOD implementation review process or discount the findings of the DOD's comprehensive working group on this subject.…”