Political Quotes

“I would like to take a minute to note the fiscal year 2025 NDAA conference agreement the Senate is voting on this week. Congress has passed a bipartisan Defense authorization bill every year without fail since 1961, a remarkable feat. And in an increasingly partisan Senate, it is even more remarkable. Every year, when the final text comes, there are inevitably Members on both sides of the aisle who like some provisions and dislike others. That is what compromise is all about. This year's text is no different. It includes a historic pay raise for junior enlisted troops. It provides continued support for Ukraine's territorial integrity and Baltic security cooperation. This bill authorizes important military construction projects. It reauthorizes my READ Act to continue quality basic education programs for vulnerable children around the world. At the same time, it also continues troubling restrictions that make it unnecessarily difficult to finally close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay. And it fails to include important provisions I sponsored that would have accelerated PFAS remediation and enabled the skilled DACA holders to enlist in the military to address our recruitment challenges. But there is one provision in this conference agreement that troubles me, a provision that would ban certain medical treatments for transgender children of servicemembers.…”