Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of my bill, H.R. 3263, the DHS Medical Countermeasures Act. The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc all over the world, causing countless deaths, both from COVID and from unexpected causes unrelated to COVID, businesses shuttering, job loss, and our everyday way of life almost coming to a halt. While I am pleased that the United States is heading back to normalcy with three excellent and widely available vaccines, we cannot forget the great struggles that we encountered just last year. Every day, countless Americans put their lives on the line for others, including the men and women in the Department of Homeland Security. Throughout the pandemic, the agencies and officers at CBP continued to protect our borders; TSA officers secured our transportation system; and representatives from FEMA, who took a lead role in the government's response to the pandemic, still had to deploy when disaster struck in other areas. My bill, the DHS Medical Countermeasures Act, supports the DHS workforce and Department mission continuity by requiring the Secretary to establish a medical countermeasures program to protect employees and working animals in the event of a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosives attack; naturally occurring disease outbreak; or pandemic.…”