Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise today to highlight important provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act conference report that will counter the serious and growing problem of counterfeit goods entering the military supply chain. Section 818 of the conference report, which includes these provisions, reflects the leadership of Chairman Levin and Ranking Member McCain of the Senate Armed Services Committee. I applaud their work to keep counterfeit parts out of the military supply chain. As I have said before, our Nation asks a lot of our troops. In return, we must give them the best possible equipment to fulfill their vital missions and come home safely. We must ensure the proper performance of weapon systems, body armor, aircraft parts, and countless other mission-critical products. Section 818 goes a long way toward protecting our troops from the dangers of counterfeit parts and the decreased combat effectiveness they cause. I am particularly glad that section 818 includes a provision I introduced to increase criminal penalties for trafficking in counterfeit military goods. That provision, introduced as the Combating Military Counterfeits Act of 2011, S. 1228, was reported without objection by the Senate Judiciary Committee. It was cosponsored by Senators Graham, Leahy, McCain, Coons, Kyl, Blumenthal, Hatch, Klobuchar, and Schumer.…”