Political Quotes

“I am opposed to section 9012 as it is currently written and a number of other members of the Committee on Armed Services are opposed to them as well, and you will hear from them in the ensuing minutes here. We were informed that we had the right to assert that this was, in fact, authorizing on an appropriations bill and to ask the Committee on Rules, which we initially did, to not protect this provision and allow it to be stricken. But I was informed by the chairman of the full committee that this was an important issue for members of the minority on the Committee on Appropriations, and they wanted to have a discussion. And our Members agreed with that. So I think we will have a full discussion of this issue. Mr. Chairman, my amendment will require the Defense Department to provide Congress with recommendations on maintaining a climate of religious freedom and tolerance at the Air Force Academy. The amendment also expresses a sense of Congress that personal expressions of faith, that is, all faiths, are welcome in the United States military. My objection to section 9012 is that the section concludes based on newspaper accounts that officers assigned to duty at the U.S. Air Force Academy and others in the chain of command are engaged in ``abusive and coercive religious proselytizing'' based on reports. {time} 1515 Mr. Chairman, Members may have read press accounts regarding issues of religious freedom and tolerance at the Air Force Academy.…”