Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman. Mr. Perry and I might debate about the causes for the budget cuts at the Pentagon and for the reasons for the budget cuts there, but what we do not debate and what we stand shoulder to shoulder on is the fact that the Army National Guard, the Air National Guard, is the best- trained, best-equipped, best-led National Guard force that we have ever had in our history. I had the honor, before I came to Congress, of serving as the Adjutant General, commanding the 13,000 Army and Air National Guardsmen of the great State of Illinois. Unfortunately what has happened, as the drawdown has started to occur, the Pentagon has put forth a plan that would slash the Army National Guard. The Army National Guard and, for that matter, the Air National Guard--today we are specifically talking about the Army, but every remark I make applies to the Air National Guard as well. The Army National Guard serves as America's insurance policy. It serves as the shock absorber for our military. We can't maintain a large enough military to answer every contingency, and that is why we have the Army National Guard and that is why we have the Army Reserve. Those are the soldiers that we call forth when we need them. When we don't need them, they train at home. In 2005, in Iraq, 51 percent of the soldiers in Iraq were Army National Guardsmen and Reservists--51 percent. Over half were Army National Guard and Reserves.…”