Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, this morning's New York Times had a jarring reminder of the fate for those Afghans who put their trust in the United States when they decided to help us as interpreters, as guides, providing a variety of services that made the American mission possible. Indeed, our soldiers, our diplomats, countless Americans have put their lives in the hands of these brave partners. There was a promise, that we would be there for them, just as they were there for us. Sadly, this is a promise that has been broken time and time again. For the last 10 years, I have been working on an initiative to have the special immigrant visas to allow these trusted partners, whose lives are now at risk, to escape to safety and freedom in the United States. Too often we have had a program mostly in name only. Visas were authorized, but through lack of attention, resources, commitment, focus, the paperwork languished. People have been in a bureaucratic hell, impossible conditions created, and to be met by despair and too often threats, injury, and, sadly, death of the people who trusted us. During the height of the government shutdown, we were nonetheless able to come together to bring the program back to life, or at least put it on life support. I deeply appreciate the staff of Majority Leader Cantor and Minority Whip Hoyer. Their key staff members worked with a bipartisan coalition.…”