Political Quotes

“Mr. President, there has been a lot of talk on this floor about border security in recent years. It is amazing how much of what is said resembles what was said a quarter century ago. I am equally amazed by how the politics of border security have changed over that time period. Earlier this week--it has been widely publicized--President Trump visited Yuma, AZ, to highlight the continued need for border security. Now, as someone who has actually had firsthand experience with border security, I thought I would say a few words as well. As a U.S. marine in the 1990s, I spent months in a desolate, forbidding stretch of desert--my apologies to Arizonans--that was a stone's throw away from Yuma, AZ, the same place where these Border Patrol agents stand. Now, my marines and I were part of an unmanned aerial vehicle unit. We worked with Border Patrol agents, like these gentleman, and we were charged with patrolling the border in the Yuma Sector. They were on the ground. We flew drone missions to help them collect intelligence. It is a dangerous area with heavy narcotics and human trafficking. While there, I saw the need for greater border security. Now, uniquely, among the military services--and I know our Presiding Officer had a distinguished career in the U.S. Army--the Marines are charged, by statute, with tackling whatever mission, however daunting, the President requests of us.…”