David Weldon: “as a U.S. Army veteran myself, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3308, the United States Armed Forces Protection Act.…”

“as a U.S. Army veteran myself, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3308, the United States Armed Forces Protection Act. This bill takes important steps to ensure the protection of our troops overseas. While it may not go as far as some of us would like, it makes considerable progress to ensure that we protect the interests of those who risk their lives by putting on the uniform of the U.S. military. We remember what happened earlier in the Clinton administration, in Somalia, where our United States troops had to rely on U.N. forces for backup. It cost 19 of our men and women in uniform their lives. I will not allow their lives to be forgotten. I will continue aggressively to ensure that our men and women in uniform do not have to rely on the United Nations for backup that may or may not come. H.R. 3308 extends proper protection to the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces, who have been sent to serve in U.N. peacekeeping operations.”