Political Quotes

“I ask the Senate to join me for a few minutes to consider this amendment. It relates to traumatic brain injury. It is a very serious problem with soldiers who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. This amendment addresses the very real medical issues and problems they are facing with these serious wounds. Senator Obama shares my concern of this issue. That is why we are offering this amendment together today. Our goal is to improve the treatment of the devastating injuries which are suffered by many of our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Traumatic brain injuries can range from large, penetrating skull fractures to concussions which may not be immediately detected. As of January of this year, the Department of Defense reported that nearly 12,000 members of the military have been directly or indirectly wounded in explosions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mr. President, I am going to display a chart at this moment which is painful to see. I talked it over with a man who has served in Iraq who commanded troops in Iraq who saw one of his soldiers suffer a very serious injury similar to the one I am about to show. I asked whether he thought it was appropriate for me to show this image on the floor. He said, Yes, it is important that the people of this country understand the kinds of injuries that our soldiers are experiencing and why this issue of traumatic brain injury is so important for us to discuss with this amendment.…”