Political Quotes

“Mr. President, one of the great privileges of this job and the honor of representing Oregon in the U.S. Senate is seeing the way Oregonians of all backgrounds and beliefs come together to support those who wear or have worn the uniform of the U.S. military. When it comes to honoring our veterans, Oregonians and so many across the country think in terms of patriotism, not politics and certainly not partisanship. There is not a Democratic or a Republican way to support our veterans; there is an American way. Recently, I was very pleased to join Senator Moran and Senator Tester to introduce bipartisan legislation that would expand the presumption to veterans exposed to Agent Orange in the Korean Demilitarized Zone. The VA currently presumes that veterans who served in the Korean DMZ from 1968 to 1971 were exposed to Agent Orange, but there is evidence that veterans were exposed to toxins all the way back to 1967. Our bipartisan bill would extend the presumption date back, making it easier for veterans to apply for and receive care and benefits. It is a good bill. It is a bipartisan bill. As we head to Veterans Day, I want to make it clear that I am going to do everything I can to make this bill law soon. Given the fact that we will all be home this weekend, I also want to take a few minutes to discuss another bipartisan piece of legislation that is important to the welfare of our veterans and a proposal that recently became law.…”