Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise in support of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012. I wish to commend Senator Levin and Senator McCain for their leadership in bringing this piece of legislation to the floor. All my colleagues in the Armed Services Committee have done a remarkable job and have done it with great discipline and dedication and concern for the men and women of our Armed Forces and the defense of the Nation. This is the 50th consecutive Defense authorization bill that the Senate has considered, and I hope we will soon be able to send it to the President for his signature. We owe this to our service men and women who are devoting themselves, and indeed their families also, to the protection of the United States. We made difficult decisions in putting together this bill, especially in these challenging economic times. We were able to find $26 billion in savings from the original budget request the President submitted earlier this year. But I am confident this bill provides a budget that allows the Department of Defense to combat current threats, plan for future threats and provide for the welfare and protection of those men and women and their families who serve this Nation. I am pleased that at the start of the debate on this important measure, that we were able to take up and pass Senator Ayotte's amendment on strategic airlift, which I was pleased to cosponsor.…”