Political Quotes

“Mr. President, before I give my intended remarks and while the Senator from Alaska is still on the floor, let me just share with him--although I probably would not have used some of the pejorative terms, let me agree with him that this distinction that has been made between combat troops and noncombat troops in the Middle East is ridiculous. We need a more fulsome discussion on the floor of the Senate as to the scope of our deployment there. We just heard evidence last week that we have U.S. troops on the ground in Yemen in addition to Iraq and Syria. Frankly, the appropriate forum to have that discussion is a debate on an authorization of the use of military force to fight our enemies in the region. So, while I might not share the way in which the sentiments were expressed, I think that this conversation about brave men and women-- American soldiers--putting their lives on the line as we speak in the Middle East is as important as it gets. The fact that we are not having a broader discussion about this is deeply problematic. So I thank the Senator for raising the issue. I hope it is something on which we can come together as we provide legal cover and perhaps restrictions on the use of force in the region. So I thank the Senator for bringing up this important subject. Gun Violence Mr. President, I am here today to talk about the 21,000 people a year, 2,600 a month, 86 a day--these are rough numbers--who are killed by guns all across the country.…”