Political Quotes

“Madam President, this week we debate, as the Senate should, the annual Defense bill, the National Defense Authorization Act. I served 23 years in military uniform, as both a company commander in Iraq and Kuwait during Operation Iraqi Freedom and as a logistics battalion commander with the Iowa National Guard. It is because of that experience that I understand that the work we do here on this bipartisan Defense bill matters immensely to our troops. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit us, 50,000 National Guard and Active- Duty troops answered the call without hesitation and are out there today running test sites, delivering medical supplies by ground and by air, and even running food banks to ensure no one goes without during this trying time. During a recent confirmation hearing for Lieutenant General Hokanson to be the head of the National Guard Bureau, I asked what the Governors would do without the National Guard. He said he shuddered to think what they would do because they are America's first response in communities across the Nation. Just a few weeks ago, on June 7, we had over 120,000 National Guard deployed, and that includes not only those within the United States but those that are deployed overseas. As a former National Guardsman, I can tell you these are some of our best and brightest. They are ready to go at a moment's notice, to respond to anything, whether it is civil unrest, pandemics, or natural disasters.…”