Pat Ryan: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise in support of the NDAA as it was reported out of committee under the strong…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise in support of the NDAA as it was reported out of committee under the strong bipartisan leadership of Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Smith. I proudly served two combat tours in Iraq and sadly and personally know the human cost of conflict. The landscape we face is as serious as ever, from a land war in Europe to the significant threats from China. This body has a crucial decision in front of us, one that will have ramifications for my two young boys and for many generations of Americans to come. Will we choose to be patriots, continuing the 60- plus year precedent of coming together in a bipartisan manner as Americans to keep our Nation safe? Or will we give in and give up, ceding the ground of our democracy to a small group of extremists willing to hijack our Nation's security for their own narrow, selfish political gain? So many of the foundational challenges our military faces, from declining trust in the institution to significant recruiting challenges for all of our services, can and must be directly attributed to this introduction of inherently partisan, divisive rhetoric into what should be a sober and bipartisan discussion. If I hear one more colleague, especially one who never served a day in uniform, use the W word--which I won't use here on the floor--then struggle to define what the heck they even mean by it, I am going to lose it.…”