Political Quotes

“it is said that those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it. On May 12, 1987, I stood in this very spot to offer virtually the same amendment as my colleague from Oregon. My amendment failed to pass. Very rarely in life are we granted the opportunity for a second chance, an opportunity to fix our mistakes. But, now, this body has the chance to correct itself. The C-17 was waste of taxpayer funds then, in 1987, and it remains a waste of taxpayer funds now, in 1994. In 1987, the C-17 was already behind schedule, already over cost, and far from being anything other than a paper airplane. How, in 1994, and C-17 is behind schedule by years, over cost by billions, the Air Force is cutting deals with the contractor to keep him solvent, and although the paper airplane is finally flying, the tail has almost fallen off; it has stalled in midflight and, because the pilot was unaware of the situation, the plane nearly crashed; it attempted to take off with only three engines, a maneuver most any plane can perform, failed to have sufficient power for the takeoff, and its fuselage scraped the ground; jump testing has recently been halted due to parachutists crashing into the vertical stabilizer; and, in the most recent incident, the brakes burned up on an emergency landing. The paper airplane of 1987 is now a metal airplane that really should still be a paper airplane. There is no question that the Nation needs more airlift.…”