Political Quotes

“I first would like to thank Senators Gillibrand, McCaskill, Ayotte, and Fischer for their hard work on this issue, and my friend from South Carolina, who has worked passionately hard on this issue also. As someone who strongly believes in bipartisanship, I am glad to see the Senate moving forward today on debating and voting on this particular issue. While we may not all agree on how to best solve this particular issue, we can all agree that it is too important not to debate and ultimately vote on ways to address it. Our military is the greatest fighting force the world has ever known. The freedoms we enjoy as Americans are because men and women continue to volunteer to serve and to protect our Nation. The vast majority of these men and women serve with honor and integrity. However, there are a few bad actors in our military who commit crimes against their fellow servicemembers. The question the Senate faces is whether or not the military justice system is equipped to properly handle sexual assault within the ranks. After careful consideration, weighing all the facts, I feel the military today is not equipped, and that is why I support Senator Gillibrand's approach. Like everyone else in this Chamber, I am disappointed we ever got to this point. No soldier should have their service degraded due to dishonorable conduct in the ranks.…”