Political Quotes

“I want to thank both Senators McCain and Levin for organizing this debate on this amendment in a way that maybe we can get closure on this amendment tonight. Both our ranking member and the chairman have been very helpful in pushing an amendment forward where we have 71 cosponsors. To Senator Leahy, I want to say it has been a real privilege and joy working with you on this. We had 71 Members of the Senate sign onto the legislation, and it is simple. It says the Chief of the National Guard Bureau will now be a member of the Joint Chiefs. What does that mean in the real world? It means the citizen soldier's voice will be heard at the highest levels of our government. After 1947, we reorganized the Defense Department. It became the modern Defense Department with the Joint Chiefs, where we have representatives from the Marine Corps, the Air Force, the Army, and the Navy, and now the citizen soldier. Why is that important? After 9/11, the Guard's role in defending this Nation changed substantially. The Guard and Reserves--but particularly the Guard, on the front lines of homeland security defense--have dual missions. They are the first to answer a natural disaster that hits America in uniform. They are the front-line troops. They have been integrated into the Army and Air Force in a fashion where they were deployed constantly to war zones.…”