Political Quotes

“Madam President, I rise today in support of Finland and Sweden's application to join NATO. I give my strong support to this application. I disagree heartily with our colleague from Missouri. I know you know, Madam President, having worked on this issue, as I have--having visited these countries, we know how important they are to Minnesota and Wisconsin. Minnesota has a special bond with the Kingdom of Sweden and the Republic of Finland, and at the core of this bond, at the core of the bond between our country and these countries, is shared values--values of democracy, values of freedom. Yes, we have challenges--of course we do--in Asia, but I happen to believe that when you are a great power like the United States of America, you can do two things at once. Let's look at what these countries add to our security by joining NATO. First of all, Finland is over 2 percent of their budget on military. Sweden is increasing their budget on military. Both nations have professional militaries. They have strong and transparent economies, and mostly they believe in human rights--in freedom, in liberty, and equality. They believe in democracy. I will note specifically that Finland has added an extra $2.2 billion in defense spending this year. Greece and Poland and Lithuania and Latvia and Estonia and Slovakia and Croatia and the United Kingdom-- above 2 percent. So let's get the facts straight here, and let's talk about what these countries will add to our security.…”