Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise to discuss the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022. I want to make two basic points at the beginning and then discuss some of the specifics of the bill. The first is the word ``deterrence.'' The cornerstone of our defense policy is deterrence. The best battle is the one that doesn't occur. The best war is the one that doesn't occur. And there are those who will say that this bill authorizes a very large amount of expenditures. I can assure you that war would dwarf the expenditures in this bill. And deterrence is the whole idea of having a force that would convince any potential adversary that attacking the United States is a losing proposition, that it would cost them more than they would ever gain. That has been our strategy for many years. It is our strategy going forward, and I will talk about it in some specific terms with regard to this bill. But it is important to understand that that's why we are doing this defense bill, is to provide and strengthen and ensure that this country has the forces and the weapons that are necessary to deter any potential adversary. The second concept that, generally, I want to discuss is consensus. When I go home to Maine, people are amazed that we do anything together, because all they see on the TV news and read in the newspapers is about conflict--bickering, arguing, differing. Why can't they get anything done?…”