Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding me the customary 30 minutes. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the rule providing for general debate on H.R. 4909, the NDAA, or National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017. For 54 straight years, the United States Congress has come together in a bipartisan fashion to craft policies and recommendations for the United States Armed Forces and to put these into law. As has been indicated, of course, this is one of the most consequential and substantial items that we have. It is one of our responsibilities here in the United States Congress. Personally, I have found objections to some of the policies in the bill. Of course, I commend the work of the men and women on the Armed Services Committee on this legislation. I am going to highlight some of the problems that exist and why many of us on both sides of the aisle will likely be opposing the legislation. Many of my colleagues on the Armed Services Committee currently serve or have served in the Armed Forces. They are dedicated public servants, and they have worked hard on this bill. Of course, the bill includes the rest of us as well. Over 375 amendments have been offered to improve this bill. The Rules Committee will be meeting this afternoon to determine how many of those we make in order, and I hope that the Rules Committee makes in order a great number of these amendments.…”