Political Quotes

“I say thank you to Senator McCain. Thank you for your leadership and thanks to Senator Jack Reed for his leadership on this issue. As the Senator points out, there are real lives at stake. If we are not able to continue the Special Immigrant Visa Program for those Afghans who have helped us during the conflict in Afghanistan, then--we know the Taliban has already murdered a number of them, their family members. As the Senator points out, to have someone object to going forward with this amendment--not related to the program at all but because people have other personal issues they want to address--it would be unfortunate and not in this country's interest. What we are actually hoping we can vote on today is a carefully crafted amendment. It addresses the legitimate concerns that people have raised about this program. We spent hours over the last few days and last night trying to come to some agreement to address those issues, and I think the legislation before us does that. The concern, as I understand, isn't about this program and about what is in this program; it is about individuals who have their own issues unrelated to this program that they want to see addressed. I understand that. We all have our issues, but that is not what we ought to be voting on at this point. The Senator pointed out that Ryan Crocker, who served both in Afghanistan and Iraq, has talked about the importance of this program, as have so many of our generals and those who have served.…”