On the recordApril 21, 2010
Just recently my district hosted the only stop in New York State, actually in Schenectady, of the Operation Free Tour. As you know, it's a bus tour being conducted by veterans for American power and they are doing a coast-to-coast tour, hitting all of the States. It was so impressive. We invited veterans from all vintages, from World War II, from the Korean War, from the Vietnam conflict and up to the present day, more present-day veterans that have committed in uniform and have fought on foreign soils in defense of this nation. Very impressive, very impressive visits by these folks. They, at our stop in Schenectady, New York, had three spokespersons: one veteran from the State of Arkansas, who has done two tours of duty as a marine in Iraq, spoke to the crowd, spoke to those assembled. We had a visitor, a veteran from the State of Wisconsin. She drove a truck, I believe, with the Army in Iraq. And then finally a veteran from the State of New Hampshire who as an Army officer did a tour of duty in Iraq and a tour of duty in Afghanistan. He is now at Yale Law School. To a person, each of these veterans spoke of the wisdom, the no-brainer, as we might call it, of moving to energy independence for Americans; energy security.
