Political Quotes

“I would like to start out by thanking the gentleladies from Indiana and, of course, from Hawaii for this very significant and impactful legislation. It is particularly a privilege to speak in favor of this knowing that Ms. Gabbard is from Hawaii and, today, currently serves as a comrade in arms just like me. The TSA started an expedited free screening program in 2011 called PreCheck, but just recently expanded the program to include Active Duty members of the military and most recently, just this March, to severely injured members of the military. As a matter of fact, there is a Member of this House who was severely injured, and I served right along with her soldiers. I flew with those soldiers in Iraq myself. Many of these injured soldiers and servicemembers want to continue to serve. They want to--that's their calling in life--but they cannot for their own good and for the good of the mission, but their hearts are in the right place. So while it's great that the TSA has recognized severely injured members of the military in that regard, what about these veterans who want to serve but cannot continue to serve? This bill rightfully extends similar benefits to severely injured or disabled veterans and members of the Armed Forces. Increased and more stringent security is understandable in the wake of 9/11, and it's kind of a bitter irony that many of these members who have been severely injured joined just because of those events.…”