Political Quotes

“Last year, the House voted to remove longstanding language from the fiscal year '16 Department of Defense Appropriations bill that sourced Pennsylvania Anthracite to a public utility in Germany, which provides energy and heat for our troops stationed in the Rhine area and, in particular, in Kaiserslautern. While seemingly well-intentioned, my colleagues misrepresented the overall costs associated with this provision, and they painted this as the poster child for government waste. Taking their concern into account, the Appropriations Committee drafted language for fiscal year 2017 that does not prescribe the energy type or where it is to be sourced from, with the exception that the energy be domestically produced here in the United States. Mr. Chairman, nearly 56,000 American defense personnel and family members reside in the Kaiserslautern military community. There are more overseas U.S. defense installations and personnel in Germany than in any other nation. Their well-being is of the utmost importance. Unfortunately, the amendment to strike section 8127 will place the energy needs of our military installations and, by the way, all the dependents, those family members, clearly in the hands of Russia. And I am not the only one sounding this alarm. In February, Commander of the U.S.…”