Political Quotes

“I want to join my colleagues today and speak on the importance of passing the fiscal year 2020 Defense authorization bill. As others have mentioned, the process of negotiating the national defense bill is one that has a long history on Capitol Hill. For the past 58 years, the Congress has found a way to come together and unite behind a bipartisan bill that supports our servicemembers and enables the defense of this Nation. We must continue this tradition, and that means recommitting to the principles of bipartisanship and compromise upon which it is built. Thanks in large part to the hard work and the leadership of Chairman Jim Inhofe and Ranking Member Jack Reed and the members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Senate passed an overwhelmingly bipartisan version of this year's National Defense Authorization Act. The House of Representatives, however, passed a very different bill. The conference process is ultimately about finding the best solution that supports our men and women in uniform, but we have to be willing to compromise and find consensus. We cannot resort to political brinksmanship. As the chairman said last week and as some of my colleagues have mentioned here today, we are running out of time. It is essential that our colleagues in the House come to the table to pass the fiscal year 2020 NDAA.…”