Political Quotes

“I rise today to urge my colleagues-- Democrats, Independents, Republicans--to seize this opportunity that we have to pass bipartisan legislation to look out for the veterans of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who are suffering the terrible consequences of exposure to burn pits, toxic fumes, and toxic waste. When we send Americans to war, caring for them when they return is not a favor, it is not a good deed, it is not a choice; it is a sacred obligation of the U.S. Government. I would observe that many of the same Senators who voted to send our forces into harm's way in Iraq and Afghanistan are still serving in this body today. We have a sacred obligation to pass this legislation to ensure that those who served in those conflicts and anywhere around the world in service to the United States, suffering from the effects of exposure to toxins, get the care they need through the VA. This is about folks like COL David McCracken of Tyrone, GA, an Army Reservist deployed in defense of our country after 9/11. Colonel McCracken made it home from those deployments. He served his country. He did his duty with valor and bravery. But at the age of 45, when otherwise healthy, Colonel McCracken was diagnosed with brain cancer--a rare occurrence at his age--and 11 months later, he was dead, taken from a wife and three children. This is about folks like Army SGT Jeff Danovich, who fought in Mosul in 2004, where he lived just 100 yards from a burn pit.…”