Political Quotes

“I thank the chairman for yielding. Madam Speaker, I generally support everything that the chairman supports. This is a wrongheaded bill. Our colleagues need to say ``no'' to this. The American people did not send us here to expand America's security blanket to more parts of the world. We don't have to get involved in every conflict we are invited to, and we certainly don't need to seek out extra ones. We can wish the people of Georgia well without expanding our commitment to be Europe's defense force with a blank check to defend every country. Admittedly, Georgia can't really defend themselves well against Russia. They are not even spending 2 percent of their GDP on defense in the current state. That is a minimum for admission into NATO. My colleagues couldn't blame them for thinking that it doesn't really matter because even the biggest countries, like Germany, haven't historically hit that threshold either, but their economy isn't that big. Even if they were spending more, it wouldn't matter. Madam Speaker, this is the wrong approach to national security, and it also further dilutes the effectiveness of our sanctions regime. I think it is a terrible idea. I think my constituents are wondering: Why we are doing this instead of the things that we campaigned on? I hope we get focused on an America-first foreign policy. This isn't it. Madam Speaker, I oppose it, and I urge everyone else to, as well.”