Political Quotes

“this week, just days before the end of the fiscal year, we are going to consider the Defense appropriations bill. This is an important bill for America's national security. The chairman, ranking member, and their staffs worked long and hard on it. I appreciate their commitment and willingness to work with both sides. Before we even take up this bill, however, we could and should have voted on the Defense authorization bill, which includes critical policy matters crucial to national security importance. As hard as it may be to understand in the midst of a war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Republican leadership in the Senate pulled the Defense authorization bill from the calendar in July and replaced it with a bill that was requested by the National Rifle Association. The gun lobby wanted a bill to excuse them from liability in lawsuits and the Republican leadership in the Senate felt that was more important than the Defense authorization bill, which considered massive policy questions involving hundreds of thousands of men and women in uniform and veterans. I do not understand that thinking. The appropriations bill we will hopefully take up this week includes $50 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.…”