Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank both Mr. Smith, the ranking member, and Mr. Thornberry, the chairman of this committee, for working very hard on this bill. Both of them are responsible leaders in this House and work well together to make sure that our national security is well served. I regret, therefore, that I will be opposing this bill for reasons that I will discuss. Both have been fighting tirelessly for the defense authorization bill that gives our troops the tools they need to achieve their mission's objectives, enhance our national security, and bolster key U.S. partners. These are, of course, positive aspects of this bill. I particularly commend my friend Gwen Graham for authoring an amendment that will help develop a joint U.S.-Israeli anti-tunneling system, which is included in this bill. Representative Marc Veasey had an amendment adopted in committee that asked the Pentagon to explore the effects of the DACA program on military recruitment. Congressman Gallego worked hard to get language included in the bill expressing the sense of Congress that DREAMers, undocumented immigrants who were brought here as children, ought to be able to serve the country they love in our military and be rewarded for that service with a chance to stay here legally. I think that is common sense. Some across the aisle have made it their mission to remove that language from the bill.…”