Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I rise in opposition to this rule as it fails to make in order several important amendments, including ones from Representatives Speier and Gabbard, that would have continued a critical debate on the urgent problem of sexual assault in the military. The previous speaker has pointed out how important an issue this is. If it's such an important issue, it really deserves broader debate in this House fully. Unfortunately, the Rules Committee saw fit not to allow those amendments in order. But I want to thank the Rules Committee for making in order by the ranking member, Mr. Smith, to close the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. I've been to Guantanamo--I don't know how many of my colleagues have been there, but I've been to Guantanamo--and Guantanamo is a significant drain on the Department of Defense's resources. There are other reasons to close Guantanamo, which I will speak of, but the numbers speak for themselves. It costs us $1.6 million per detainee. That's versus $34,000 for Federal prisoners. $1.6 million per detainee. $247 million authorized in this bill to replace temporary facilities at Guantanamo. Overall, $264 million a year to keep this facility operational for 166 people. For every dollar spent on a detainee we spend one less dollar on our troops in the field. At a time of great fiscal uncertainty, it is astounding that this facility stays open.…”