Political Quotes

“I rise today to vote in favor of legislation to put the Congress' voice where it should be--at the forefront of the national policy which guides our armed forces in the face of conflict. Under the Constitution, the Congress has the power to declare war and commit our troops to battle. As a Member of Congress who is opposed to putting American ground troops in Kosovo, I believe the Congress should have the opportunity to debate whether it is in our national security interests and vote to give the President the ability to put troops on the ground in Yugoslavia. I do not believe it is right for the President to act unilaterally to put our young men and women in uniform into ground battle in Kosovo without the explicit authority of the U.S. Congress. President Bush acted correctly in seeking the authority of Congress to commit ground troops before we acted to expel Iraq from Kuwait in 1991. While the President is working with our NATO allies to persuade the Serbs to end their brutal actions in Kosovo through air attacks and diplomatic initiatives, I believe he has an obligation to first seek the authority of the nation's legislative body before sending tens and possibly hundreds of thousands of our armed forces personnel to battle.”