Political Quotes

“I thank Chairman Takano not only for yielding time, but much more importantly, I thank him for the extraordinary work he does on behalf of the Armed Forces and for its veterans. He is tireless in his advocacy of veterans' interest. I meet with him every Wednesday in the chairman's meeting. He is always speaking up about how we need to continue our focus on the needs of our veterans who served our country so heroically, whether they went overseas or not. Some of the veterans that we are talking about today were not overseas when they contracted a disease or an illness as a result of toxic substances. They were here in America. There is a poet who says: They also serve who stand and wait ready to serve, ready to be deployed to the point of the spear. Mr. Speaker, you and I are old enough--I don't want to be too harsh on the Speaker--but to remember the song: When Johnny comes marching home again, hurray, hurray, the boys will shout, the girls will cheer, and the women, they will all turn out. One of the problems we have seen, though, after that cheering, that after that parade, after that exultation, is that memories are short. As time goes by, some of our veterans, sadly, tragically, and wrongfully, have been forgotten. This bill says we do not forget. This bill says we will be there for you, and, yes, we will be there even if there is a substantial cost to it. This is a defense cost.…”