Political Quotes

“Thank you, Representative Schneider, for your leadership. I rise today to honor the struggle that so many parents who must do the unimaginable have gone through, to grieve the loss of a child. As an Army wife and a former CIA officer who worked alongside the military on three tours in Iraq, I have watched many parents send their kids off to war, and, unfortunately, many did not return. For the families left behind, not only does the hole in their hearts never heal, but the ripple effect of that loss is also vast. The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, or TAPS, estimates that for every Active Duty servicemember killed in Afghanistan and Iraq, six family members are significantly impacted. This is the devastating collateral impact of combat. But our communities in the United States, our high schools and colleges, are not supposed to be war zones. For many of us adults, we look back fondly on those years as a time for liberation and new opportunities for work, study, and play, for learning new things, and for growing up. So when a parent sends their child into the world full of hopes and dreams for the future, they do so with visions of challenging classes that expand their horizons, friendships that will define their lives, Saturday tailgates, and spring break in sunshine. Most importantly, they send them off with the full and complete assumption that they will safely come back home.…”