Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague and my next-door office mate. The south wing of Cannon is well guarded. Of course, the third verse of the ``Marines' Hymn'' says that when all the rest of us get to heaven, they will find that the gates are guarded by United States marines. But I guarantee you, there are some snipers up there somewhere, making sure that the marines don't get taken from behind. We have a term, or had a term because I am no longer involved with the Pentagon on a direct basis, but while working there over a long period of time, there was a term called BLUF, B-L-U-F, bottom line up front. So the bottom line up front from my remarks today is that CRs, continuing resolutions, seriously inhibit and in some cases, prevent long-term planning, training, and readiness. We have a term that you will hear now used by the military on a daily basis: We have to be ready to fight tonight. That is not tonight next week. That is not tonight next month. That is right now and around the globe. {time} 1800 When you have a mission like the U.S. military does to protect not only our citizens here but those citizens in countries of our coalition partners around the world, we have to be able to fight tonight, and we have to be able to fight as a coalition force around the world. When you are not ready, you are not a good partner. Continuing resolutions consume time, they consume resources, and they increase the overall cost of warfighting.…”