Political Quotes

“I rise today and associate myself with the remarks of my colleague Senator Shaheen that she delivered earlier today. She is a fierce supporter of our men and women in uniform, both when they serve our Nation and when they retire or leave the military. I am an original cosponsor of her Military Retirement Restoration Act, and I am also supportive of passing a bipartisan budget deal that prevents our government from shutting down and prevents our defense budget from being slashed. The American people have made it crystal clear that they are tired of gridlock here in Washington, they are tired of partisan bickering, they are tired of the fact that it has led us to sequestration and the kind of crisis budgeting that has prevented us from getting our fiscal house in order. Like every one of us, I do not support every provision in the bipartisan budget agreement, but I want to give great credit to Senator Murray and Congressman Ryan for their willingness to sit down together and negotiate in good faith and come up with a deal that moves our country forward. Let me make it clear that the budget compromise is not perfect, but it is far better than the alternative. Let's be clear what the alternative is: A $20 billion sequester cut for the Department of Defense on January 15 and a much higher likelihood of a government shutdown. Our country simply cannot afford more ideological standoffs that lead nowhere.…”