Political Quotes

“I appreciate the gentleman's courtesy in permitting me to speak on this bill. I never served in theater, but I have worked on this issue for 14 years. We started with Senator John McCain and Senator Kennedy, and it moved forward on a bipartisan basis, both the House and the Senate, with the special immigrant visa. But, sadly, it always was too slow, too bureaucratic, and there really wasn't the sense of urgency that was necessary to make sure that the people who put their lives on the line to help Americans in these difficult circumstances were dealt with. Something has changed. First of all, President Biden has made an extraordinarily difficult call that we are going to wind down that presence of the United States in terms of military. It is a difficult call. It was one that needed to be made because the circumstances were not going to change. If it was 5 years, 10 years, it would just be more billions of dollars and more lives; putting off the day of reckoning. I admire the President for doing so, but I hope he brings that same sense of urgency to deal with these people who we can't afford to leave behind. Another thing that has changed is the energy of new Members of Congress who served in the theater; my colleague, Jason Crow. We just heard from Peter Meijer. They have added a sense of urgency on a bipartisan basis that has helped us craft this legislation, that will solve the problems if we are willing to implement it in full force.…”