Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I want to thank my good friend, Dr. Ruiz, for organizing this very important Special Order. I know he is a terrific doctor, and the fact that he has sacrificed to be here, to complete the mission. I appreciate it so very much. I have a similar story as well, but we must complete this mission as soon as possible. As Jennifer said, this is the Agent Orange of our era. Providing the care and support for our veterans, our Nation's heroes, has been one of my top priorities since I was elected to Congress, and I will continue to fight to ensure that our veterans get the benefits they deserve. As a matter of fact, after one of our hearings a few years ago on the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, we had many veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange. Their families were present with them, their children were present with them, and I invited them into my office. One-on-one, they told me the stories of what happened. The spouses would tell me: my husband, my wife, was exposed, and now he or she can't work. Who is going to support the family? What is going to happen to these children if their father or mother passes away? Who is going to take care of them? They need healthcare now. They need their benefits now. We can't wait any longer, Madam Speaker. Burn pits are the Agent Orange of our era, as Jennifer said. And the fact that we haven't resolved the issue of burn pit exposure is an absolute disservice to our veterans. They were exposed, and we must help them.…”