Political Quotes

“I wrap up by saying that Senator Paul is consistent. Every time he wants to pay for something, he comes to the foreign assistance account. I understand the argument: Why are we spending over there when we have problems here? That sounds good until you realize how the world is. On September 10, 2001, the day before 9/11, we didn't have one soldier in Afghanistan, not an embassy, not an ambassador, not a dime of aid. The Taliban were in charge, and they gave al-Qaida safe haven. That is where the planning of the attacks and 9/11 originated. Looking back, wouldn't it have been nice to have had some influence in Afghanistan on September 10? All I can say is, I will never go back to that pre-9/11 mindset of ignoring the world, because I have learned, like most Americans, the world can come here in a very bad way or very good way, depending on how we defend ourselves. This 1 percent of the budget--foreign assistance to deal with problems over there--is absolutely essential in terms of global health. He exempted the global health component of the foreign assistance account, but the money--$7.76 billion--will destroy other things in the account that I think are vital to our public health here and our national security and our alliances. You cannot fight problems like this by yourself. You need partners. You need to get involved over there so the virus doesn't spread any more here than necessary.…”