Political Quotes

“I rise today to offer a bipartisan Inhofe-Mikulski amendment to the National Defense Act. What does our amendment do? It stops the privatization of commissaries, which are an earned benefit for our military and their families. Every year when the Senate debates this bill, we talk about how we love our troops and how we always want to support our military families. But if we really love our troops, we need to make sure our troops have the support they need. One of the earned benefits that does that is the commissaries. And if we love our troops, why would we want to proceed in this direction of privatization? Our troops don't view commissaries as a subsidy; they view them, as do I, as an earned benefit. I am fighting here to preserve this piece of the earned benefit compensation package. What are the commissaries? Since 1826, military families have been able to shop at a network of stores that provide modestly priced groceries. The commissary system is simple: If you are an Active-Duty, Reserve, National Guard, retired member, or a military family member, you have access to more than 246 commissaries worldwide. They give military members and their families affordability and accessibility to health foods. Senator Inhofe spoke earlier about where these commissaries are. Some are located in our country, and some in remote areas, and over 40 percent are either in remote areas or overseas.…”