Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I have often come to the floor to talk about the remote and sometimes dangerous places around the world where our USAID and State Department Foreign Service Officers serve. We all know about the difficult and dangerous places our brave military personnel serve, often at great sacrifice. We sometimes lose sight of their civilian diplomatic and aid colleagues working side by side. I am always impressed that no matter where on the planet one travels, there is an outpost of American ideals and talent dedicated to diplomacy, human rights, and helping the less fortunate. These civilians serving abroad can face a variety of threats. Yet they do it with dedication, patriotism, and a belief that the United States should always be a voice for good in the world. Sadly, today I come here with a heavy heart, as the life of one of the brightest young officers from my home State of Illinois was cut short on Saturday in one of those dangerous places. Twenty-five-year-old Anne Smedinghoff eagerly volunteered to serve the United States in Afghanistan on her second assignment as a State Department Foreign Service Officer. She was clear-eyed in her determination to make a tangible improvement in the lives of those around her. And after 2 years at our Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela, Anne joined the Public Diplomacy team at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.…”