Political Quotes

“I rise today in support of the Leahy- Graham amendment which hopefully we will vote on here soon. The amendment is pretty simple. It says the Congress has decided, in its wisdom, to make the Chief of the National Guard Bureau a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In 1947, we reorganized our Defense Department and created the modern Department of Defense and the Joint Chiefs, with a chairman, which would provide military advice to the Commander in Chief, the President of the United States. The Chairman is the person responsible for advising the President, but the Joint Chiefs are made up of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. With this legislation, the Chief of the National Guard Bureau will become a member--nothing more, nothing less. It doesn't provide any power to the Chief of the National Guard Bureau in terms of commanding troops. It doesn't interfere in the relationship between the active forces, the Guard, or the Reserves. It simply states that now is the time for the National Guard, the citizen soldier, to have a voice on the Joint Chiefs. The reason I believe it is important is after 9/11, everything about the National Guard and our country's needs has changed. The National Guard is the front-line soldier/airman when it comes to natural disasters. When our homeland is hit by natural disaster, they can be called up federally or at the State level they provide assistance to our citizens. We have seen the effects of natural disasters.…”